You can’t go back and change the beginning, but your can start where you are and change the ending.I liked it and, without giving it much thought, shared it. People started liking it and commenting on it saying that it was profound and such. I went back and looked at the original post. It had over 13 million views, 435 thousand shares, 14 thousand likes, and 900 comments. I would classify this as a viral post. Some comments on the original posts claim C. S. Lewis never said this. Others got very spiritual about it.
I do like the quote, but it is not so profound to me at this time. While I have never heard this particular quote, the message or concept is not new.
Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present. ~ Bill KeaneThe bottom line is that we cannot reverse the past. What’s done is done. There is no time machine. We could have regrets over what we did or didn’t do. A little regret good, too much regret will… well the following quote attributed to Lao Tzu said it best:
If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.
There is a Bible passage, Isiah 43:18-19, that gives a similar message:
There seems to be a recurring theme. We cannot change the past. Of course, we would only want to do that if there is something in the past that we regret. It could be that we squandered time or opportunity or, worse, did things we are ashamed of. If all we do is regret the past, we will indeed get depressed and just wallow in that depression. Better that we deal with our regrets in the only way possible by doing something in the here and now to make for that better ending that C. S. Lewis was talking about.
If we squandered time and opportunity, stop doing it now and everyday moving forward. If we did somethings we are ashamed of, we can only change our behavior moving forward to be a better example and atone for what we did. We can make amends by paying it forward to others.
The concept is indeed profound. It makes so much sense, but it is as if collectively we do not think it important enough to teach it as a fundamental concept to others. We are just surprised when we run across it. It is a bit like The Golden Rule. It is profound when we first hear that we should treat others as we would want them to treat us. Yet, we hear of this very early in our lives and most all religions have some version of it as a tenet to live by.
Thus, we all know about The Golden Rule and believe it is how we should live. The same cannot be said of the Lewis Rule.
Both these maxims or beliefs, The Golden Rule and this lesser known Lewis Rule, are wonderful notions and ideas. As stated above, they are how we should we should live. Should is the key word here. We should follow both maxims but we don’t. Knowing what we should be doing and actually doing it are two very different things. What is profound, amazing, and humbling to me, is when I see someone actually living these tenets.
18 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.Another popular short hand for this is adage states that “today is the first day of the rest of your life.” This quote is attributed to Charles Dederich, the founder of the drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization, Synanon, which he founded in the 1960s. It was a very popular quote in back then. I do remember thinking it was profound when I first heard it back in the late 1960s. It made a lot of sense to me though ever since then it has been a minor contributor to the anxiousness that Lao Tzu referred to.
There seems to be a recurring theme. We cannot change the past. Of course, we would only want to do that if there is something in the past that we regret. It could be that we squandered time or opportunity or, worse, did things we are ashamed of. If all we do is regret the past, we will indeed get depressed and just wallow in that depression. Better that we deal with our regrets in the only way possible by doing something in the here and now to make for that better ending that C. S. Lewis was talking about.
If we squandered time and opportunity, stop doing it now and everyday moving forward. If we did somethings we are ashamed of, we can only change our behavior moving forward to be a better example and atone for what we did. We can make amends by paying it forward to others.
The concept is indeed profound. It makes so much sense, but it is as if collectively we do not think it important enough to teach it as a fundamental concept to others. We are just surprised when we run across it. It is a bit like The Golden Rule. It is profound when we first hear that we should treat others as we would want them to treat us. Yet, we hear of this very early in our lives and most all religions have some version of it as a tenet to live by.
Thus, we all know about The Golden Rule and believe it is how we should live. The same cannot be said of the Lewis Rule.
Both these maxims or beliefs, The Golden Rule and this lesser known Lewis Rule, are wonderful notions and ideas. As stated above, they are how we should we should live. Should is the key word here. We should follow both maxims but we don’t. Knowing what we should be doing and actually doing it are two very different things. What is profound, amazing, and humbling to me, is when I see someone actually living these tenets.
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