March 13 – Burnout and Blind Spots: Why We Need Historical Rearview Mirrors to Understand Present Problems

“Those who cannot learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana

The current prevalence of historical amnesia and "alternative facts" underlines the critical importance of record-keeping. In the American context, a blatant disregard for documented injustices has become a disturbing trend, effectively weaponizing ignorance against the sobering lessons of the past. This willful blindness to historical patterns carries dire consequences, as past missteps and their disastrous outcomes stand as stark warnings for the future. Only by grappling with our documented history, warts and all, can we hope to understand and rectify past wrongs, and ultimately, prevent their tragic repetition.

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” George Orwell

In Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul, Dorkas Cheng-Tozun remarks that organized forgetting is happening all around the world. “A 2018 special report from the Index on Censorship found that authoritarian governments are focusing significant energy on controlling historical narratives – shutting down museums, banning history books, and even imprisoning historians who challenge them.”

“History is not just about memorizing dates and names; it’s about understanding the forces that shape our world.”  Howard Zinn

In the same book, Cheng-Tozun quotes racial justice advocate Latasha Morrison, “When we lack historical understanding, we lose part of our identity. We don’t know where we came from and we don’t know what there is to celebrate or lament.”

From the coded chants of forgotten revolutionaries to the tear-stained diary entries of persecuted dreamers, the mosaic of human experience owes its vibrant hues to the meticulous hands that preserved them. Each shard, a testament to resilience and hardship, guides us to pave a path where the marginalized find their rightful place in the grand narrative of tomorrow.

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” Maya Angelou

It’s frustrating when things slip off track, in our own lives and in the world. We need to understand what caused the failure to get back on track. This is an integral part of the process. As a teacher at a private school, we would have open house days to let prospective parents and students see what our school was like. After each, my supervisor would hold an “autopsy” of the open house. We would talk honestly about what worked well and discuss areas that we needed to work on, brainstorming alternatives. Looking back at these things helped us predict that failure could happen again and gave ideas for steering around these potholes and staying on a smooth road forward.

Many people learn the hard way that if you don’t look back, but continue to drive forward, you risk burning out. You use all your energy pushing into the potholes in the road and trying to get out, instead of seeing them coming and being flexible enough to pivot.

“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” Winston Churchill

In our own lives, in our relationships, communities, countries and the world, we have many areas to explore and try to figure out the pros and cons of staying the same or working hard to change. Understanding our situations is often the first step to figuring out what is best to do next. Understanding history is important so that we do not repeat past mistakes.

Activity: If life has pulled you away from what matters most to you, working to get clarity on your values can help. It can guide you in the direction you want to head in. It can give you an idea of the types of goals that will be most fulfilling and purposeful. It can also help you persevere through the hard parts of life. Even if times are hard, it’s nice to be reminded that you are on the right path. Here is an online quiz that I found to find out what values are most important to you. I plan to use this with an activity log to see how many of these values are found in my everyday activities. After a month, I will go back and do an “autopsy” to find the overlap between my values and my activities and address any deficits.

In today's increasingly digital world, it's easy to lose sight of what makes us human. The constant bombardment of screens and social media can distract us from cultivating essential qualities like kindness, empathy, and resilience.

My book, Nurturing Hopeful Resilience, guides parents and caregivers through the challenges of raising children in a technology-driven age. It explores the importance of instilling strong values in children from a young age to help them develop into compassionate, responsible, and fulfilled individuals.

Through a series of practical exercises and insightful reflections, this book delves into fourteen core values: curiosity, awareness, kindness, learning, self-awareness, fairness, playfulness, compassion, service, belonging, trustworthiness, authenticity, community, and responsibility. Understanding and nurturing these values can empower our children to thrive in a complex and ever-changing world.

This book offers a roadmap for raising children who are academically successful, emotionally intelligent, socially adept, and morally grounded. It encourages readers to prioritize human connection, empathy, and compassion over material possessions and fleeting digital distractions. By embracing the power of values, we can create a brighter future for ourselves and generations to come.