When to look back

Photo by Gabriela Tomassetti.

“Echa pa’ lante, pa’tras ni pa’ coger impulso” (Go forth, don’t ever go backwards, not even to get impulse). That latinamerican saying has transcended generations and serves as a mantra to many. But, what does it mean to never look to your past? I’m all for leaving behind what burdens us in order to travel light through life (after all, we only have one, right?). But forgetting is also dangerous.

In my very short years on this planet I’ve had the opportunity of experiencing many things and “looking back” is something I’ve learned from personal and not so personal examples.

You see, it’s not good to ignore the past. The past is experience and we learn from experience, that’s what makes us grow. The more we ignore what has happened, the less we learn and so, the lesson repeats itself, until we allow it to teach us.

So, I try to look back once in a while to find those little gems of wisdom that we earn with every rock in the road (and hey, sometimes we really hit those rocks hard, don’t we?).

It’s not about holding on to what was but rather give value to that which shook us, and that we can use to wake up and go after what we want. The only valid reason to look back is to learn from our past.

Stay inspired!

Love,
Vero

Originally published on July 5, 2018