Hindsight, ever the cruelest and most astute adviser”
R.J. Ellory, Bad Signs
It seems review the past year is compulsory. This post is a submission to that demand. I am reluctant to comment on 2020 primarily because of Ellory’s judgement of hindsight…it is a cruel and astute adviser.
2020 confirmed Pogo’s wisdom.
202o…
… Impeachment/acquittal
…Covid-19 Pandemic
… Social and political upheaval
… Death of George Floyd/ riots, protests
… Quarantines/Lockdowns
… Economic collapse
… Presidential campaigns/elections
exploding flares illuminating the landscape of my life exposing my delusions, misconceptions, misunderstandings and sins. With each occurrence, disappointing realities have been revealed …biases, fears, anger, hatred, prejudices, doubts, impatience and rudeness. The assault has has been relentless. Secreted idols have been exposed, stripping away naive facades of my faith.
Surprisingly, 2020 did not leave me disheartened. My temptation is to attribute survival to the triumph of my faith, but that would be disingenuous. Hindsight reveals a coping strategy dependent on observing and condemning “them”, shielding me from the truth… “the enemy is me”. It saddens to think I may well have squandered an opportunity for spiritual growth in 2020 for “thirty pieces of silver”?
Unlike Judas, my filthy lucre can be redeemed. 2020 is not the end, 2021 it is not the beginning of the end, it is the next page in a story that continues to be written. 2021 is not a light at the end of the tunnel but a bright star in the dark night, the star of David leading me through darkness…the end always in sight.
Ellory is right:
Hindsight, ever the cruelest and most astute adviser.
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Deuteronomy 4:9
What will we teach our children and their children about 2020?