Your Conscience Awakes and You See Your Mistakes

Lessons learned are like
Bridges burned,
You only need to cross them but once.
-Dan Fogelberg

Last time I checked none of us have been ordered to bend their knee to the Gods of Apathy, Stupidity and Cowardice, yet I see people all the time who are miserable in life because of their unwillingness to walk away from this silly Triumvirate of Mediocrity.

On our fantastic journey from birth to death we all have the opportunity to grow in empathy, knowledge and fortitude, by which we continuously reform ourselves into more loving, more committed individuals. One way to achieve this is by interpreting the vicissitudes of life in such a way that allows us to avoid making the same mistake twice. By plowing more of our time and energy into attitudes and behavior that produce pleasing results, we help ourselves and those who depend on us to accompany if not occasionally carry them on their own travels through life.

In other words, when analyzing an event that ended as a disappointment, take a moment to see if you could have changed the outcome by cranking out a little more power from the generator inside you labeled "character." Those who remember their failures, as the song suggests, won't have to return and cross the same river over and over again. They can continue on to the next destination, to the next chance to live up to the high expectations all are given at birth, expectations that unless fulfilled by hard work are as worthless as diamonds hidden beneath the earth.

Take as much as you think you ought to
Give just as much as you can
Don`t forget what your failures have taught you
Or else you`ll learn them all over again.