“Learn from your mistakes” remains a mantra-like saying, touted in one form or the other throughout the world from the time we are able to communicate until the day we die, yet, even as adults, this common idea bypasses our hippocampus, sometimes daily. It’s not the moments when we forget where we put our keys because we don’t put them back where they belong, or even eating the slice of everything pizza, knowing it’ll almost certainly lead to stomach upset. What’s downright frustrating is our ability to “forget” the more dire consequences that befall our lives when we choose to ignore past experiences.
Take running. As an exercise, it has always been an enjoyment of mine. I first ran around the neighborhood or with family and friends. Then, I progressed to running 5K races and 10K races. Great, right? Well, it was fun…until my sister and I decided to run a marathon. We did all the proper build up, running short runs during the week and a long run on the weekend. Sweating in the South Carolina summer heat as we ticked off the miles would, for some, be a badge of honor. For me, it was utter dread. I despised running long distances; every morning that I had to wake up early to start in the “cool” part of the day, I cursed and moaned. While I enjoyed being a part of the race with my sister, my knee—injured a few weeks before—hurt almost the entire race. We even ran a half marathon after that—I guess to prove to myself I really didn’t want to do it again. So, why do I find myself running a half marathon twenty plus years later? I have yet to learn from my mistakes! I still hate running long; there’s nothing enjoyable about it for me–or my hips, knees, ankles, or feet. Plus, now I have more reason to be apprehensive about waking up early on a balmy, humid Summerville day—a 53-year-old body already experienced in torture.
What about speaking with caution? Have you ever kicked yourself for sharing information with someone who you didn’t really know well enough? You know, the “I’m going to share this with you, but please keep it to yourself,” conversation. I’m not talking about gossip, either. Whether it’s a lapse in judgment when giving a co-worker an insight or sharing a struggle with someone, losing trust in someone you thought was on the up-and-up can be devastating in different ways. Sadly, when someone tells you a conversation will stay between the two of you and then he or she proceeds to do the complete opposite in less time than it takes to order pizza, your belief in humanity takes a hit. You believed the assurances, knowing either professional courtesy or human kindness would protect you.
While these examples are benign in the scheme of things, the realization as I grow older and “wiser” is the fact that sometimes history repeats itself, no matter how hard we try to avoid the tentacles of certain events. Sometimes, we walk into it completely aware of the mistake, thinking we may possibly be immune this time. Other times, our guts cry out in horror, yet we move forward believing it an overreaction—surely, it’ll be different this time. Still other times—depending on our memories—we completely forget we screwed this up once before, and we willingly embrace our “new” mistake. No matter the reason, we journey through another parallel pilgrimage, berating our ignorance and promising to never again make the same error.
At the very least, these homages-to-the-human-condition should bring understanding of the young people around us making their blunders for the first time, as well as the rest of the population making their own mistakes—sometimes on the same page as our snafus. I wish I could say that I’m done with it. I’m not running long distance ever again after this race. I’m not sharing information with people I’m unsure of. I’m listening to the voice in my head or my gut or heeding the signs of impending disaster. But, I’ve said all of this before. I’ll probably be here again.
It’s funny, really. And human.
Quote of the Day:
“Don’t let the fear of what could happen make nothing happen.” Extramadness.com
Designs on Life 