In front of the entrance of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., two statues are placed. Although they are completely different, each of them conveys wisdom about building a better future.
The first statue is titled „Past.“ It is a sculpture of an old man looking back in time. He holds a closed book in his hand representing history. The past is gone. It is unchangeable. But on the base of the statue, there is an engraving of a paraphrase from Confucius that says, „Study the past.“ This means, remember the past and learn from it.
The second sculpture is titled „Future.“ It depicts a young woman looking forward and contemplating what could be. She also holds a book in her hand, but hers is open and represents everything that is yet to come. The engraving below her is a line from Shakespeare that reads „What is past is prologue.“ Everything happening today influences everything that will happen tomorrow.
We do well to study the past, understand it, and learn from our mistakes. The better tomorrow we hope to create starts with living as we should today. As we do so, our vision of how things should be becomes clearer, as does the character we need to achieve them.
History is always the best teacher. Whether we are talking about the future of our country or the future of your household, the way forward always begins in the past.