Remembering the Positive
I was reading a magazine article about Jorn Utzon, the architect of the famed Sydney Opera House. He was poorly treated by government officials and driven away from the project before it was completed. However, he was recently invited to participate in making necessary improvements, vindicating his original design. The article describes years of depression but notes that today he "determinedly focuses on remembering only the positive side of things."
There's a lesson in Mr. Urtzon's story: It does no good to dwell on bad things of the past. It does no good to remember only one part of our experiences in the past. If we focus on the negative aspects of the past it usually leads us to focus on the negative possibilities of the future. I've noted before that we need to learn from past experiences but we need always to look to the future if we want the best from the future. If we learn the wrong lessons from the past, lessons of futility and failure, we'll make the least of our lives. We need to put the past in its place, the past, and move to make the future the best we can.
But there's something more here. Our focus must be on the future, not on remembering the past, not even on the positive side. We need, most importantly, to look to the future without dwelling on the past. If we are to do our best to improve our lives we need to stop being driven by the past. No matter what we do the bad things of the past will fade. It's human nature that we will remember the best of the past. Let's look to the future, stop dwelling on the past and move forward confidently and cheerfully. We'll be better off and, by the way, it will help others to make the most of their futures as well.
5-15-06
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