Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Hindsight is 20/20


One thing is for sure: regardless of how uncertain or random the future may seem, once something happens, a quick glance in your rearview mirror reveals that everything was in fact certain, you just didn't know it.

The other night I watched a crazy french film, Irreversible. The film starts with its last scene, a brutal murder, then works its way scene by scene back to the beginning. Along the way, you realize there were a million signs along the way that were completely overlooked which lead to the murder.

I haven't been able to get the movie out of my head. It is easy to connect the dots in retrospect, not so easy to pay attention to the warning signs as you move along. There are, however, those signs that we see and blatantly ignore, leading us towards impending doom.

So I say, use your rearview mirror and learn what you can. Look back and see what you could have done differently and apply these changes to your life. Who knows, you may actually be able to avoid a future crisis. This goes for everything from personal habits to personal relationships. Put down the phone when you are texting (because you can remember the time you "almost" hit a pedestrian because you were checking facebook) and walk away from the guy who says he doesn't want a girlfriend (because time has taught you that in fact, men who say that are generally telling the truth).

Because remember, if hindsight is the only time you can see things 100% clearly, you might as well use the past to your advantage. Who knows, maybe you'll end up effecting your destiny.

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