There was an old fashioned Fish Fry last summer in my hometown. The entertainment committee of my high school class put it on. I live far away now and when I received the notice, I declined. When Jerry, the chief Fish Fry organizer wrote back and reminded me how much I use to enjoy those delicious Perch sandwiches and asked me why I wasn’t coming. I wrote back with the following explanation. “Those deep fried, Lake Erie Perch sandwiches will always live in my memory as one of life’s great treats, but they are not as good as they were and probably never were. You’ll recall that Thomas Wolfe said, “You Can Never Go Home Again.” ”

When we take those walks down memory lane it is good to enjoy fond memories of times gone by. We can savor the sights, sounds and tastes from yesteryear but if we expect them to be the same now we will be disappointed. I can still remember the very first time I had Pork Fried Rice in Tokyo. It was exquisite, I thought. (You must remember I’m from a small town in Ohio and had never had Japanese food before, so Pork Fried Rice seemed like an exotic dish.) I spent a good many years trying to recapture that wonderful, charming culinary experience. It’s never happened and it never will. That was then and to expect it to be repeated in exactly that way is folly and can only serve to rob me of the experience of today’s Pork Fried Rice.

Am I saying there is no practical value in reminiscences? Not at all, we can use the recollection of earlier experiences as a resource for making positive choices in the present. We must, however, be sure that we are learning the right lessons. Mark Twain said,” If a cat jumps on a hot stove, he’ll never jump on one again but he’ll also never jump on a cold stove.”

I have a great photo of a slim, physically fit me smiling as I cross the finish line at a 15K run a few years ago.
O.K. it was quite a few years ago, but it’s still a part of my history that is serving me now. As I’m looking at my 90-day goal to become healthier and more physically fit, I draw encouragement and inspiration from that photo. That was me once and it can be me again. I don’t run anymore but I do walk and it’s paying off. I’ve been walking aerobically and have lost weight and feel more energetic.
As we are progressing towards our 90-day goals I would challenge all of us to look to the past and ask ourselves, “What from my previous experience, is useful in my present situation?

Success thought for today:

“THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAST IS DESIRED ONLY FOR THE SERVICE OF THE FUTURE AND THE PRESENT.”
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Byron
byronethompson.com

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