This is topic Afterthoughts in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by filetted (Member # 5048) on :
 
Has anyone managed to ever parlay these into a future situation?

Those afterthoughts that leap to mind after the situation has played out?

Those "I woulda" after the "He shoulda, and She coulda"?

It seems endemic.
 
Posted by LadyDove (Member # 3000) on :
 
Everyday I make mistakes, but I rarely make the same mistake twice. I guess you could call that a successful parlay.
 
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
 
Of course. If you can't use what you've learned from a situation, you haven't learned anything...
 
Posted by filetted (Member # 5048) on :
 
LadyDove and Ry,

You are lucky. I know very few folks who can learn a non-trivial lesson from just one exposure.

flish
 
Posted by ak (Member # 90) on :
 
I think I've learned many non-trivial lessons even from just reading good books. Books that are true to life, with characters you really care about, have that side-effect, I think. Afterwards you can't help thinking what went wrong, what they should have done, what character flaw it was that allowed the bad stuff to happen. I think it's made a huge difference in who I am.

But it's true that things in our own lives that are singular are hard to draw meaning from. When the same bad thing happens more than once, then you have to look at what you are doing to set that situation up. The lesson you draw might not at all be the one someone from outside the situation thinks you should, though. Only one person knows what it's like to be you, so only one person can understand the inner meaning of your life.

[ August 06, 2003, 03:00 AM: Message edited by: ak ]
 
Posted by filetted (Member # 5048) on :
 
AK,

The lessons of life repeat, and the common denominator isn't lost on me (I hope). Still, I personally struggle with an answer befitting my experience, and those answers (to be blunt) are woefully lacking... like asking a parlor magician to straighten the collar on your jacket before you step foot on the stage your mentor has never stepped foot on.

flish

[ August 06, 2003, 03:28 AM: Message edited by: filetted ]
 
Posted by ak (Member # 90) on :
 
Yes, I hear you. The compulsive post-mortem doesn't always yield even the vaguest of conclusions. So that means the investigation is never quite closed. Still, it's very worth the time and thought, to me. Otherwise life almost might as well not have happened. It increases the ratio of understanding gained to damage caused, I think. [Smile]
 
Posted by filetted (Member # 5048) on :
 
[Smile]
 


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