The quote, “After the event, even a fool is wise” by Homer, is very appropriate and relevant, especially in these tumultuous times where everything is chaotic and in a mess. Man has always been selfish and to fulfil his desires, and he has been falling to the least standards possible. Life, as they say, never gives you second chances but definitely gives you an opportunity to introspect and analyse after-effects. Hindsight is a term popularly associated with understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened or developed.
Many a times, we tend to perform certain acts without realising the repercussions it might cause. Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, “It might have been.” Let us not, in the pride of our superior knowledge, turn with contempt from the follies of our predecessors. The study of the errors into which great minds have fallen in the pursuit of truth can never be uninstructive. As the man looks back to the days of his childhood and his youth, and recalls to his mind the strange notions and false opinions that swayed his actions at the time, that he may wonder at them; so should society, for its edification, look back to the opinions which governed ages that fled.
One should also realise that not everything is in their hands. The actions might not be always in our control, and therefore, one should have the ability to forgive himself for not having the foresight to know what now seems obvious. In this mad rush, we all have lost ourselves; our real selves. Due to this mad run, we have forgotten our very own purpose. For what now seems the most urgent thing, in the future, we would laugh looking back at our mistakes that could have been avoided. The time where we actually think about all our acts, our achievements and our flaws is our death bed because we know that our end is near. In reality, we all want to escape and live in illusion. Therefore, we wait for the opportunity life gives in the end. But man is left with nothing but regret. We have often been self critical and harsh on ourselves because we feel that it will lead us to our unknown destination. But it is in hindsight that we realise the availability of alternatives we could have chosen. This introspection will increase man’s vulnerability and disturb him from within, making him feel guilty and regret his past decisions. However, as they say, there is no point in crying over spilt milk. So one needs to make choices, the ones which satisfy and provide peace to inner soul.
The perfect epitome is the current situation where we realised the harm we caused to the environment which led to the fatal virus.
In life, we face various experience, but it is only after the event we structurally analyse it. This hindsight can help man to secure his future by not repeating the mistakes done in past. However, a popular belief that a fool flatters himself and the wise flatters the fool, is true. Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit. The mistakes of the fool are known to the world, but not to himself. The mistakes of the wise man are known to himself, but not to the world. The choice is ours because it is in hindsight that everything is clearer.
– Romita Handa, Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana
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