My Past...

"We are never defined by our past...we are only prepared by it."
- Alexander Phiri, Milton Keynes, England (emphasis mine)

Alex and I share many common life experiences; when we have our "almost weekly" phone conversations, it's both encouraging and challenging. Kindred hearts and spirits...we're separated by the Atlantic but united by a bond of brotherhood like no other. In a recent conversation, Alex and I were discussing the past: its ability to render impotent even the most viable dreams and its uncanny manouevers against creativity. It was then that Alex said: "You know, Sid, we are never defined by our past...we are only prepared by it." He went on to share how every single act, situation, and thought from my past is the eclectic education I needed to function effectively in my present.

I wonder, then...
...at what point does the past become a preparatory tool? Friends, I believe that it is when we choose - when we become bold enough to face our past and declare it our "Future Preparatory School." It's been said that mistakes are only made when one does not learn from them. In other words, if you learned from it, it is not a mistake. That is, it was necessary to educate you about a particular thing or situation. Think about it: it is that one math problem, that one grammar issue that you made that became something you'd never forget. Why? Because you allowed it to become a learning opportunity.

I know that this is a difficult season we're going through at present; pirates are terrorizing folks on the high seas, brands we've come to consider household staples are being phased out, factories we've come to think of as part of our towns are shutting down, and, now, a pathogen that has nothing to do with pork is making its worldwide tour! To top it all off, we're in the midst of our own personal financial recessions, depressions and meltdowns. At the risk of sounding insensitive to these and other issues clogging our mental arteries...so what!? What do we do now? How do we move past this and gain the higher ground? How do we become even more of the men, women and children we've been destined and crafted to be?

How about allowing each situation to marinate and then become a learning opportunity? Why not learn from our financial mishaps? Our complacency? Our apathy? Whatever we do, there are only two choices here: become astute and studious about the past or let it extend its long arm into your present to beat you to a pulp. I hope you will instead, like me, sharpen your pencil and bring your notepad...
...what do you have to lose?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.