The Rearview Mirror

Some time ago, I read something that stuck fastly to my mind. As I can’t remember exactly how it went, I’ll try to paraphrase. It was advice about not constantly dwelling on the past. It was something like, “instead of looking into the rearview mirror (the past), look ahead to the future and move on with your life, away from the past”.

Now this makes perfect sense, because the same way you’re most likely going to get into a wreck if you’re driving forwards while looking into the rearview mirror, is probably the same way you’re going to mess up your present and future by continually dwelling on the past.

Does this mean that the past is some vestigial thing that has no purpose, and should be ignored or done away with? By all means No! If the present and the future are important, then it only stands to reason that the past, which is in the same flow of time as the present and the future, is important.

Philosophical reasons aside:

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Psalm 90:12 (KJV)

So teach us to number our days, That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12 (AMP)

It’s important to note, that we won’t grow in wisdom by merely counting the days. I mean, there would be no need for the Holy Spirit to teach us to “number our days”, if all it involved was merely marking the days as they went by. There are lessons, and potential gold mines embedded in our good and not-so-good experiences. If we don’t take notice, and learn from these experiences, we won’t really grow in wisdom.

So don’t rush headlong into the new year, eager to forget about the woes of 2020, without taking some stock of the last year. 2020 was a year fraught with many challenges and difficulties. But for as many difficulties and challenges as there were last year, there are just as many lessons to learn, and many avenues to grow in wisdom.

The rearview mirror is present in cars for a reason. The past is also present for a reason. Learn from your past, grow in wisdom, and move on with your life (at high speed if you like 😄).