Learning From Our Mistakes

I want to start off today’s blog with a moment of silence in acknowledgement and sorrow for the horrific event that occurred in Las Vegas this past Sunday. I know many of us have been glue to our TVs, iPads, laptops, phones, etc. for understanding as to why something like this could and would happen. I personally don’t know if events like this can even have a logical explanation. That being said, it has happened and I send out my condolences to all those who lost their loved ones.

Beyond Las Vegas, this week my thoughts have been on learning from my experiences. I’ve had so many of these as a mother, it isn’t even funny. I don’t think I completely want to rewind time, but looking back, I definitely wish I hadn’t been such a brat to my mother! I hate hearing the words “I told you so”? I even hate saying the words “I told you so” because they usually mean that something I didn’t want to happen, has happened. I had an experience like this over the past few days. I’m not going to go into the details because it really doesn’t matter and probably will just make me mad again, but needless to say, I ended the situation shaking my head and thinking (not saying as in this case it wouldn’t be polite) I told you so.

So why do we insist on plugging away instead of learning from others’ experiences? Why is it we can’t listen to our parents and insist on making our own mistakes? Or even as a country and a world, why do we insist on repeating history?

I know I’m asking these questions but I really don’t have answers.  I think we do learn from others’ experiences at times but I also believe that many of us believe we are different or it will be different this time around. There is also something about experiencing life ourselves that flips the switch in us. As a parent, I’ve felt this way. No one could have quite prepared me for the experience of giving birth and taking care of a newborn. Many tried but until it happened, their descriptions simply fell flat.

So what do we do? Well, for some, nothing. We’ll just make mistakes and live through them. For others, I think the occasional pause and thinking through possible situations may be best. It is kind of like envisioning having to rely on insurance in any form. It’s hard for us to imagine some scenarios, but it doesn’t mean they don’t happen, right?

That’s all folks! Take care and may this week be full of writing and productivity!

Filed under: A writer's life, romance, Toni Kelly