“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” - C.S. Lewis
Am I the only one who has ever blown past an exit on the turnpike, only to realize the next chance to turn around is 15 miles up the road?
What always strikes me is that there are plenty of places where you could reverse direction ... yet every one of them is marked: NO U-TURN.
Of course, there’s a reason for that. Most U-turns aren’t all that safe.
As I recently drove those extra 15 miles to the next exit ... and then 15 miles back ... I had plenty of time to think about how often we try to make emotional U-turns into our own past.
Why do we spend so much time going backward? Replaying old mistakes, old disappointments, old conversations, old hurts?
I’ve always believed the past is a great teacher, but too often we use it as a club instead.
We all have regrets. Things we wish we understood better. People who disappointed us. Moments when we disappointed others. But eventually we have to adopt the goldfish philosophy from Ted Lasso: learn the lesson, forget the rest.
Hold on to the wisdom and not the weight.
I was also reminded of a line from The Lion King when Rafiki says, “Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”
That may be the safest route of all: learn what the past was trying to teach you, then keep your eyes on the road ahead.
Wishing you all a healthy sense of anticipation for what’s still to come.
(Today’s picture ... an image from Grand Manan Island, Canada ... the captain may have been wishing for a U-turn.)
