Looking back at the events of this last year I can’t help but think of chaos, fear, and heartbreak. I have never in my life experienced so much trauma for so many people.
Hindsight typically means that when one looks back at past events, they can “see’ how they coulda, shoulda, or woulda made things different (made better choices). In other words, they should have had the foresight to have seen painful events coming and prevented them or at least prepared for them.
For me, the phrase “Hindsight is 2020” means looking back and “clearly” seeing opportunities for my own personal emotional and spiritual growth and development. Let’s consider “What are the lessons that this past year has shown us”?
At Wisdom and Recovery, we do our best to be a gentle observer rather than a critical judge of life’s circumstances and our responses to them. We do this by adhering to a set of 20 Concepts (strategies) for dealing with all of life’s struggles and challenges.
We start with the first Concept “Understanding Your Brain and Body”. In our brain, we have “mirror neurons” which allow us to have a visceral sensation when we view another person’s emotion. This is evolutionary as a survival mechanism, meaning there is safety in numbers. When we see another person’s pain we feel it and do what we can to help because… if my brother is safe then so am I. This is what we call empathy and compassion, which is an intelligent response to the suffering of our brothers and sisters in the world
So in this New Year, I invite you to look back at the lessons this past year has brought and ask yourself, “What can I do this year to better contribute to the well-being of all humankind?’
