The wisdom of Mr. Darcy

One of the funny things about life is that you sometimes don’t understand the situations you’ve found yourself until some time later. This works in ways across the board and perspective offers a view usually of great benefit down the road. Now I think we usually relate to these times in big ways, but sometimes it’s in the unexpected moments.

I just got back from Scotland over the weekend (blog post to arrive…sometime later this month) and when I stepped on the plane I had a little bit more to go with my initial foray into Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. To the abject horror of many of my friends, I just need to say…I didn’t love it. I liked many aspects of the novel, and I’m glad I read it, but it just never grabbed a hold of me. I felt like she introduced too many characters right away for me to follow and it threw me off for so much of the book as I was constantly thinking, “Okay…which person is this again?” Alright, but now I’m getting off track because this post is not a book review…for the most part.

Now despite all of this, I was struck by a statement towards the end of the book that resounded with me. In conversation with Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy states, “Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure” and even though I’ve known that to be intellectually true for quite awhile, it really (and finally) entered my heart…on a United Airlines flight to London of all places.

I know I’ve had the tendency to be overly guilt ridden, and too tied and chained by my past in ways throughout my life. However, this has reminded me that it’s silly…really. It’s one thing to learn from the past but quite another to be hindered and crippled by it. I think I’ve been here for some time but it’s true; even though life goes in ways you wouldn’t like to see of it, the good memories very often, trump everything else. I really have great remembrances of people, moments, and everything in-between that have positively affected my life. Mr. Darcy *is* right and I like that I’ve reached that point where I’m no longer dragged down but am lifted up, and that’s a good place to be. I just thought I’d share.