So, Mr. Lazarow and I shared somewhat of a brainwave today. (Maybe I am doing something right afterall..) Anyway..I wanted to expound on the topic during class, but we ran out of time.
Basically, we love power. We crave it. We do subtle things to increase our store of it. But still, we remain human. The only power we have (most of us, at least) is control over our own lives. Thus, we seize this opportunity and try to make the best of it. We define our past experiences in such a way that we claim to "learn from our mistakes," which in my own personal world seems like empty talk. Few are those who actually learn from the past. This is just a quick example: After we lost our two fellow high schoolers last winter, I sensed a change was coming about. Maybe friends and loved ones would learn the consequences of their harmful actions. Wishful thinking. On the contrary, young men and women returned to their unhealthy ways a mere few months after the tragedies occurred.
Anyway, back to the original point. We have learned that our control is exercised through the future and how it is affected by the past. Thus, we define them by our own terms. We plan and we look forward to things of our own doing, of our own will. We look back on memories that we have made. It's quite psychological. This is how we control our very own American Dream...we plan it all, we build up to it, until POOF, we reach the long-desired light at the end of the tunnel (similar to Gatsby's case) and find out that, well, we never really wanted it. Then, and only then, do we blame others. It was "so and so's" fault that I took this route!
Wrong. It was your fault. Humans need to learn how to deal with their own downfalls...me, included.
(Sam Maliha)
5 comments:
Sam, I agree that because many of us lack power, we wish to have complete control over our own lives. One way we do this is by planning for the future.
I have one quick question: is there another purpose of looking back on the past, other than to "learn from our mistakes"? Or is the past simply done and over with, not to be thought about unless with the intention of "learning from mistakes"? I have heard this phrase far too many times as well.
At the very end of class today I inquired about the terminology of "past," "present," and "future." What exactly are the past, present, and future (or is it impossible to define them beyond "completed" or "not yet taken place")? I think I'm stretching this too much in terms of semantics...
Also, Sam, could you perhaps explain what you mean by saying "we look back on memories that we have made"? I'm just not sure what you meant by memories that we have "made."
(Janet Lee)
I do believe that everything would be more aptly characterized as 'completed" or "not yet taken place". When people encourage others to 'live in the present', I have difficulty understanding what they mean. It seems impossible to me to live entirely in the present. If we didn't think of the past we would never learn even the most basic of ideas (ie. stove is hot. don't touch stove) and if we never thought about the future it would be impossible to make plans of any kind or make real progress. Overall, I think the advice is extremely flawed. Certainly, many people would benefit from observing the world around them in it's current state but can we honestly live in the moment. It's entirely too transient to be possible.
As with reguard to Janet's question, I do think there are other reasons to look back on the past, other than to "learn from our mistakes". It's true that much of backward thinking is nonproductive, as we can't change what has already occured, but I don't believe there is always a problem with looking back on the past. Looking back often allows us to hope for something plausible rather than the vague "American Dream". If one can remember a time when they were happy, or successful, or whatever it is that they want to be again, they may be more capable of making it happen again. To use a simple example, if I know I've been happy every time I've watched The Office, I can plan my future behavior on it. I want to be happy now, in the past watching The Office has made me happy, therefore I should watch The Office. I realize that that is an elementary example but the concept can work for much more complicated ones. I think that perhaps the main reason we look back at past action is not just to "learn from our mistakes" but to see what has worked in individual situations and apply it to future behavior.
Sorry if this was kind of jumbled, I'm just really tired.
(Molly Dunbar)
Ah, I'll surely clarify. Sorry for any ambiguity! When I say that we look back on memories that we have made, I am merely trying to emphasize the point that we have made our own histories. It was in our power to do so, and we took advantage of that power. Just as we will make our future, we have made the past. Does that clarify?
I think we could look back on the past to glorify our experiences rather than regretting them. That's an option, right? What we make of the past is a personal preference. I feel that humans use the past at their disposal. If they want to remember something positive, they cite the past. When the past includes something negative, they make no mention of it. This is yet another example of power.
As far as defining the past, present, and future..I have no idea. I mean, how can we define time? I think we have the power to make use of time, but not necessarily to define it..if that makes any sense.
(Sam Maliha)
I don't know...
First, I agree that people look back on the past and use it to their disposal, but I don't think that they don't mention the bad situations in the past at all. If anything, I think people use the bad situations in the past to better their lives in the future.
Also, when people reach their dream and don't like what they see, do they always take the blame out on someone else? Sure, we have seen such examples in our readings, but I don't think that is the case all the time, not even the majority of the time, in my opinion. I would think that sometimes people can't even blame others because they are unable to connect them to misfortune.
Then again, maybe this is just me being completely naive.
I'm just curious what you all think about this question: Is it easier to learn from your own mistakes, or the mistakes of others?
Personally, I think it depends on the person and the situation, but I'm just curious to see what you all have to say...
Emily T.
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