Absorbing humanity's essence and the lessons we can learn

in #history6 years ago

History follows us all no matter whether we want it to or not. What we do today will be history the moment it happens and as time moves forward it get's more distant; The things we do I mean. History is one of those things that we can see quite clearly, recent history I guess really, as the further we get away from an event the more murky it can become. Of course these days there's many ways to record events and so maybe looking back at the past will be clearer.

Looking back from now to three of four hundred years ago is less distinct though and considering even recorded history cannot be relied upon to be true and correct due to it being written by the victor generally, or by someone who heard it from someone who knew someone who was related to someone that might have been there...You get the idea.

And so we do our best to know, if indeed a person is inclined to know about history, as I understand many don't really care what happened in the past. I do though, and find certain aspects of history quite interesting and engaging.

One of the things that fascinates me most is the people I come across in history. Sure, the famous, infamous or notables can be interesting however I'm also fascinated by the not so notable; The people like me, plain, everyday people who were simply trying to make a living, to survive and thrive if possible.

This is why travel is so important to me. It allows me to visit places I read about and see in documentaries, to explore first-hand the locations, that those I am interested in have lived in.

This image shows a castle ruins called Wardour Castle located about 15 miles from Salisbury in the county of Wiltshire, UK. As you can see it's quite ruined however on walking around the building one will see that many of the rooms were not destroyed in the blast that essentially sheered off a third of the castle. [A blast that the besieging army exploded by accident would you believe - They were in fact the castle owner's trying to wrest the castle back from the attackers who had routed them initially.] It's a well-documented piece of history.

One can walk its halls, the passageways, chambers and rooms that people lived and worked in hundreds of years earlier. Sure, there's nothing much in there however it almost feels like the walls have absorbed the essence of hundreds of years of humanity and now await someone to come along and absorb it back.


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You can see the immensity of the building here as my wife is standing in the foreground. The opposite is the ruined side.


That's how I feel when I go to places like this and whilst many say if you have seen one castle you have seen them all however that's not really true. A different feel, a mood or tone is felt in each, I think so anyway, and if a person takes the time to understand the story behind the castle and allows themselves to see it as more than a pile of rocks then it starts to unlock secrets.

That feeling is not just reserved for ruined places either. It extends to all aspects of our world, in my opinion anyway, and if one opens up to it there can be a lot to learn. History isn't just found on dusty shelves in the library, it is alive, all around us, and just a little interest can unlock secrets from the past and possibly offer a pathway forward also. We can, after all rectify mistakes of the the past and make the future better can we not?

I'm not trying to convert people to embrace history, it matters not at all to me what other's do. It's just a blog, however taking a look at the past has a certain value and we all do it? Had a bad relationship and made some moves to make sure it doesn't happen again in the future? That's you applying history to your future. History is inescapable and is really the essence of humanity all packaged up neatly for us to draw upon when required or desired.


Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default
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What a magnificent old ruïne. I just love the photo. And yes. History makes me feel insignificant to say the least. Not just the physical part that we can see and touch but the enormity of the events of the past and how it shaped the world. Awesome post. Thank you

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Thanks for reading and your comment. History is a part of everyone's lives. I love delving into it because I find it far more interesting than the present.

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Why thank you so much, but no thank you just the same.

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It's like homeschooling. Much better when you're there XD

Occasionally I still think I'd love to travel if I had money. And then remember what's involved x_x so I guess I'll keep reading stuff like this :)

Travelling is a great experience but yes there's a bit involved, especially if travelling with kids. We have none, I sold them so I could afford to travel, and so it's all good for us! 😉

So much to be learned by travelling, not just history, but about all sorts of things. Maybe you'll do some one day?

If you could go to three places where and why?

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That's where I went wrong! I should have sold my kid and I could have seen the whole world by now! See, that's me learning from history!

Nice. I got a good price for mine, but I would have sold them for much less anyway. Didn't like them much.

Actually, in truth, we're a childless couple who can't have children hence all the travelling. Selling them to travel makes for a better story though. 🤔

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I’ve travelled with my parents as a kid, unfortunately mine don’t have that same opportunity 😕 (some combination of increasing costs and flat wages, a partner that’s stubbornly disinterested in flying even as a means to an end and the volume of activities the kids want to do that involves weekly commitments)

Amusingly enough before we had kids we did actually have a list of places we wanted to check out, and a bit later had martial arts centric travel plans with a friend but then at that time the kids kept gestating so that basically got put on hold indefinitely 🙄🤣

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I know a few people who have not travelled for similar reasons.

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