I never heard it put that way....

The famous Mexican author, Domenico Estrada said "Bring the past, only if you're going to build from it."


It's strange how the simplest words often carry the deepest meaning. That quote seems to work on so many different levels and in so many situations. Unresolved issues and old hurts seem to find their way into a current argument, often with same heat and used as a club against our opponent instead of a growth opportunity. Many times we carry our past like a newborn child, cradling it close to our heart and protecting it from harm instead of releasing it to heavens to free ourselves from the weight of things we can't change. Often we allow our ghosts from the past to haunt our present yet instead of turning from the demons, we stand frozen in fear, unable to look away from their glowing red eyes.


So many times, in so many ways, we carry our pasts with us, not as a badge of honor but as a burden. Instead of proclaiming the battles we've fought, we hide our scars under a cloak of shame only to be revealed when someone or something backs us into a corner, forcing us to fight the same demons we'd pretended to have conquered in the past. The demons keep rising up because we never seem quite ready to finish them off. We fight a good fight but when we finally have our swords at their throats and only need one last thrust to kill them once and for all, we walk away, turning our back on them and guaranteeing they will return.

A good military finds the weakness of its opponent and uses it against them. That's bringing the past and building on it. A surgeon or scientist takes their past failures and analyzes them to find a better way to save lives. No matter how many times an experiment fails, the doctor continues to look at the flaws to find the right path to the future. A good partner communicates their needs and desires, exposing their former hurts so their relationship can grow and strengthen. Using the past to build a better future.


That's what it takes to improve our future. Thomas Edison did it and so did Steve Jobs. Dr Jonas Salk walked that path and Martin Luther King died on it. Standing at the base of our mountain, the past often seems like too big a hill to climb but every journey begins with a single step and as Confucius said, "a lion chased me up a tree and I greatly enjoyed the view from the top".


Here's hoping you find your way to the top of your tree without getting bit in the butt by your lion.