We Learn From History

Not afraid to admit I am somewhat of a history geek-I know-we learn from history. Officials, the really wise ones at least, study history as a blue print for the future of our civilation. The United States has been created, stone by heavy stone, constructed from times and events that occurred long before our very first breath. Such as the policies, direction and avenue for this nation has been dictated by actions of patriots who came before, so are our lives guided by our own personal history. Personal history, sometimes surreal, often illogical is manifested through both experiences we have with others, and choices we have made along the way. We learn to think, to react, to love to hurt, to heal, all because of exchanges of thought and emotion. What we take from it depends mostly on what we have learned through careful studying. One thing that is tough to learn, yet is an everlasting lesson is how to handle defeat. The truly great leaders have been able to decide when it is time to muster a rally, and when to give up and count their casualties. It is like this in life. We all aren't genius generals, but how we handle losing situations can direct our future. Losing a job is like that. Being told you are no longer needed is the most demeaning kind of defeat. You have worked hard for years, possibly spent years in school or training to accomplish the American Dream. When that fails, it is easy to find yourself feeling insignificant or unworthy. And what to do now? Go back to school? Take on a new career, effectively abandoning all you have worked so hard for? Sometimes retreat, and regroup is the only option, encountering life-altering financial devastation along the way.We spend so much time on our careers these days, away from our families, our children, our loved ones. Investing our very being into jobs, to which, ultimately,leave us high and dry. Losing someone you love is like that, too. Experiencing the painful realization that you are insignificant, meaningless, regardless of how much you have cared or sacrificed. Blood, sweat and tears can only get us so far. We, after all, are humans. Humans make mistakes, trust people who hurt us, choose unwisely often. Learning from this history can be devastating. Broken hearts and dreams make us harder, tougher, colder. No longer are we so quick to love, to trust, or to work at something we believe in, when there is little left us to believe in. The thing I think is most important is to maintain dignity in both loss, love and dismissal. Never is our path in life smooth or clear. We must leap over those hurdles that life sets before us, otherwise, we are always to be stuck alone on that same road. Sometimes retreat is necessary...regroup and reformulate. I think our forefathers might have seen that best-never questioning that the ideal is within all of our reach. Muster up, reformulate, and advance. A happy life is worth it.