“Don’t look back; something might be gaining on you!” So said the great Negro Leagues pitcher Satchell Paige. This was one of his six rules for staying young, which first appeared in Collier’s magazine in the June 13, 1953 issue.
Good advice?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
The weight of regret as we look back on mistakes can be punishing, robbing us of the possibility of happiness now or in the future.
On the other hand, if we wish to learn about life, some reflection on the past is required.
Consider two other messages, one a dark story and one of light.
A biblical take on this question comes from the Book of Daniel. It is rendered above in a reproduction of Rembrandt’s painting, Belshazzar’s Feast.
In ancient Babylon, so the story goes, King Nebuchadnezzar transported loot taken from Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem to his royal court. At a drunken feast, his son, the new King Belshazzar, used these sacred objects of silver and gold to “praise the gods of gold and silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone.”
The fingers of a hand suddenly appeared and wrote Hebrew words on the wall behind the monarch. No one in his party could translate the message, at which point Belshazzar summoned Daniel, an exiled Jew who had worked under Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel informed the king that he had blasphemed and decoded the meaning of the words:
- God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.
- You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
- Your domain is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
That evening, Belshazzar was murdered and replaced as king by Darius the Mede.
The handwriting on the wall came too late for Belshazzar to undo his misdeed and profit from the learning. Most of us have a better chance of putting things right and reforming our behavior, but we must act before events overtake us.
Sometimes, that means we must read the handwriting on the wall differently.
The script might tell us to drink in life and take in the world. Keeping your eyes closed to people and avoiding every risk guarantees you will miss a lot. Perhaps a new friend or job or the fulfillment of the talent inside you.
Unfortunately, not everyone takes the time to enlighten and open himself to possibility. Belshazzar was too preoccupied with wealth to recognize himself until it was too late.
Creating a self who turns from reality, we might be caught by the things too troubling to reckon with and miss all that is worth living for.
Satchell Paige was right — “something might be gaining on you.” It might be opportunity, knowledge, self-awareness, not to mention time. Embrace as much as you can.
My advice? Read the writing and what is personal therein. Read the newspaper, the eyes of others, the natural world, and as much of the fantastic as you can find.
The chanciness of life scares the devil out of us and puts the fun into us.
Look over your shoulder now and then, not to mention up ahead instead of down at your phone as you cross the street, with earbuds in place, closing off everything else. Put on your glasses and smile.
Maybe you’ll meet the love of your life or the chance of a lifetime. Sometimes, it happens before you can turn around.
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The top image is Belshazzar’s Feast by Rembrandt. The photo below is Monopoly Chance Landing by Paul O’Keefe. Both are sourced from Wikimedia Commons.
Looking back with regret at mistakes we’ve made can, indeed, be quite punishing. I’ve been doing a lot of looking back while working on my book about women in my early life. I’ve found it an interesting and insightful process as I reflect on their/our lives with the eyes of lived experience.
Writing is often a therapeutic task, Rosaliene. May you come out the better for it. Thanks for this insight into your next book.
I agree with Dr. Stein that writing is therapeutic and insightful. I love Maya Angelou’s advice: “When I know better, I do better”, which also points out that wee can give ourselves grace for not knowing when we made our mistakes. Yes, we may have known about certain risks, but we take them anyway, hoping everything will turn out for the best. 20/20 hindsight is good for writing and achieving insight, but shouldn’t be our guide for how we treat ourselves… that’s where grace needs to come in! May your writing bear much good fruit!
A life without risk is a life without courage, I am afraid. And a life without error is unimaginable. As Tamara implies, we are not omniscient. As Judaism and Catholicism recognize, confession, reflection and atonement are not simply rituals required of believers, but necessary for repairing human condition.
I love how you put that! So true!
Thanks, Tamara.
Thanks very much, Tamara
“The chanciness of life scares the devil out of us and puts the fun into us.” Love this advice that was scares us also delights us.
What an insightful post about the handwriting on the wall. I hadn’t realized the connection between the Bible story and that phrase. So good!
Thank you for the reminder to look up and smile. Will do!
Well, you are the Bible expert here, Wynne, so I’m pleased you enjoyed the way the Belshazzar story has been used. Here’s another one: Adlai Stevenson II said, “Some people can’t read the handwriting on the wall until their back is up against it.” Particularly appropriate in our present moment, at least to me.
Love the reminder to ‘read the eyes of others’. There’s so much there if we slow down to give our full attention. 💕
Thanks, Vicki. On the subject of slowing down, maybe one of those electronic road signs that tell us how fast we are going should apply to people rather than motor vehicles!
Love that! Yes! ❤️😉❤️
There are any number of small nuances that stand out Dr. Stein
“Read the writing, and what is personal therein.”
“Look over your shoulder now and then, not to mention up ahead instead of down at your phone as you cross the street, with earbuds in place, closing off everything else. Put on your glasses and smile.”
We just never know what’s out there around the corner when we choose to close ourselves off and the more we do that the harder it can be to finally open ourselves up again. Not impossible mind you, but definitely an uncomfortable struggle.
I couldn’t agree more, Deb. Thank you. I do, however, think that the world of social media, religious, ethnic, and national persecution, political unrest, and climate change causes many of us to hunker down. Add social isolation and the anonymity of cities, and we have a recipe for closing up and wearing blinders. Not an easy time, but all that makes life worthwhile still requires human contact and love. — hard to do in a bunker.
““something might be gaining on you.” It might be opportunity, knowledge, self-awareness, not to mention time. Embrace as much as you can.
My advice? Read the writing and what is personal therein. Read the newspaper, the eyes of others, the natural world, and as much of the fantastic as you can find.”
Yes! I love this! Live life as fully as we can, don’t worry if others think we are foolish, for sometimes that’s just a great part of life, isn’t it?!
This weekend I’m planning on attending the local Ren Faire with my family, and we’ll be dressed in costumes. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks!
I hope you post photos, Tamara! Even if you don’t, I will celebrate the thought. Thank you.
I’ll be taking pictures for sure! Thanks!
Of necessity, due to a fall and resultant fractures, I am “taking time” out from life. I find I am inadvertently “opening myself to possibility” by using this time productively to purge old files and thin my bookshelves. Every file content and every book reminds
me of something in the past. I’m finding it tremendously freeing to rid myself of these past interests and exciting to clear the way for new “possibilities.” I won’t, however, look up when I’m walking as I fell because I wasn’t looking down to watch my uneven terrain😉!
You got me there, Lois. Maybe the rules change as we age and as a the sidewalk deteriorates. Glad you are finding freedom as you disencumber yourself.