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Can we imagine walking backward through life? If we want to go forward, do we take steps backward? If we want to see what is ahead of us, do we look behind? There are no eyes in the back of our heads.  In fact we have to swivel our necks to see what is behind us. And we know how tired our necks can get from looking back.
Who has not heard the saying 'that for every door that closes, another opens; that sometimes a disappointment can lead to a new road?'
How can we see the door or the new path if we are turned around; if we are not looking ahead and instead thinking about the past?
We live on the front part of our bodies. Everything about us points forward: our eyes, our nose, our mouth, and our shoulders, hands, and chest. Surviving the challenges of life has to be eyes straight ahead. We have to go onward without looking backward. At the same time we must not drag the past into the present.
The past inspires the present. We are never really without our past and never without our future. In Yoga in the great warrior poses, the back leg is the ‘brain’ of the pose. Keeping the back leg strong and articulate gives stability. Then we move forward with intelligence and grace, balanced and secure. There is no need to look back: we have a strong leg like an anchor to rely on.
Our eyes look ahead to see what is ahead. A sailor steers by keeping the horizon in sight. The horizon is always moving (there are only twenty-two miles to the horizon no matter where you look.)
Mostly we are pointed in predictable directions, straightforward and positive, but there are more difficult times. We need more attention and care to keep from stumbling. Sometimes we need to side step or be still. There are special features in our human necks that enable us to keep our heads still (but not stiff). This gives us an advantage: it helps us avoid falls and injuries. Stillness is pause without rigidity or going in reverse.
Do not be like Lot’s wife. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back. We do not want to be a pillar of salt or have a sore neck. We not want to be ‘stiff necked’.
The past, present and future are not today what they were or what they will be. These are the mysteries. Go forward one step at a time. Without looking back.

Posted by laura shapiro kramer at 2:53 PM