In this quick-fire post, I want us to consider a concept that has come to surface in the current climate of editing the past. That is to say, remove the names of people both dead or alive from hospital wings, schools or even movies. This removal is often for ethical or moral reasons.

So in this post, I want us to consider if the past can have a positive role in our present and our future, and if so, how?

Should we edit the past?

We may face the danger that we are judging people according to what we now know compared to what we knew then. This is a difficult call to make as I am not sure any of us would stand. I am in no way suggesting that we should be endorsing the wrong motives, actions or behaviours of people, especially if they knew that what they were doing was wrong. This is a much bigger conversation that is not for this post.

I would like us to focus on how we all can learn from our past, scars, failures, and successes. If we make a mistake and edit out the past, how can we learn for the future? 

The Kintsugi Principle

Dr Caroline Leaf, psychologist and neuroscientist, shares this idea in her book, ‘Switch On Your Brain’. 

Kintsugi - The origins of Kintsugi are said to date to the Muromachi period. The Shogun of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), broke his favourite tea bowl and, distraught, sent it to be repaired in China. But on its return, he was horrified by the ugly metal staples that had been used to join the broken pieces and charged his craftsmen with devising a more appropriate solution. They came up with a method that didn’t disguise the damage but made something properly artful out of it.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that you can create an even more robust, more beautiful piece of art in embracing flaws and imperfections. Every break is unique, and instead of repairing an item like new, the 400-year-old technique highlights the "scars" as a part of the design. 

Not a cover-up or a lousy patch up but a newly crafted design.

Here are five reasons why we should not edit the past.

1. The past teaches us to be better for the future.

2. The past allows you to be a beautiful mess, with the hope for change.

3. The past makes us who we are today.

4. The past makes the ordinary extraordinary.

5. Accepting the past means that which has been broken can still have immense value.

   
   

Wrapping Up

We all carry the scars of life. I don’t know what yours are? But I know that you will carry some. Maybe those wrong words were spoken to you at some point in your life, that relationship that went south, that business that failed, those sacrifices you made. The key is to learn from kintsugi principle and know that the past should not be removed or edited away instead it should be embraced as it forms who we are now and who we can be in the future.

We all can become something extraordinary; what will you do?

Thanks for reading

I have included the following video message given at Lakeshore Church in Montreal. In this talk, I explain how it is not the end even whith our past faults and failures.

Recommended reading for further insights*

I wanted to let you know that I bought my last journal from moonster*. I would recommend them as the quality is excellent, and they are a super ethical family company.

Question

Do You Want To Pick My Brains?

I have been in a leadership role for 20+ years. Let me know if I can help you in any way in your leadership journey.