The worst piece of advice I have ever been given: "Learn from our mistakes" ... In Politics we can learn from mistakes, In Chemistry we can learn from mistakes, in Medicine, Law, Astrophysics, Biochemistry, Horticulture, but in life we quite simply cannot. In order to learn emotional intelligence, financial frugality, entrepreneurship (I just learnt to spell that word :-) ), discipline, accuracy, love etc, I make very bold to say YOU have to have learnt what it feels like not to have them, you have to have had your heart broken, understood want (*insert poverty*), seen your business crash and pick up again, experienced the tragedy of ill discipline, seen the effect of poorly thought out decisions, understood pain, rage, passion, happiness, been hurt and felt pain. All these are your Battle Scars.
No true warrior can return from battle victorious till he has the scars to prove that he fought the battle. These scars act as a constant reminder of his capabilities, a reminder to strive for peace, a testimony to the good allies he keeps, a trophy of sorts. Without these scars the warrior may pick the wrong battles, overestimate his capabilities, seek solace in false allies, make rash decisions. Though his forefathers may have fought a similar battle, it is no indication of his strength.
Adversity (and indeed triumph) is the stone on which we must sharpen our knife. Our battle scars are far more important than any second hand lessons.
Xoxo.
Lovely piece! True knowledge is gained through experience; everything else is just erudition.
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