Mr. Robinson, or Mr. Rob as he encouraged and allowed us to refer him as (rest his soul), always had my vote for favorite and memorable teachers in grade school.  He taught history, and if school subjects were NBA teams, history would never win the Finals let alone make the playoffs in the battle for children’s favorite subjects.  And every now and then some jackass kid would prove this by interrupting the class with the same question:

“Man why do we gotta learn history for, Mr. Rob?” To which Mr. Rob replied in his signature booming voice complete with a slight hint of twang, a bit of annoyance and a whole lot of pride:

“To learn from our mistakes!”  With five simple words, Mr. Rob provided one potent answer.  Since then I’ve learned to weave this lesson into the fabric of my life sleeve.  At the top of the list of things that humans are really good at, it will always read “being flawed.”  Hence we will never stop making mistakes, myself especially.

And in the year of 2020, while I don’t care to list all the mistakes here, I will say that we may have made more than we’ve ever had as a society. And for some damn reason, we kept making those same mistakes and locked it on repeat, without a shuffle button in sight.

We’ve got a long way to go. But I do come with hopeful news – the next step forward starts within your own skin. It’s kind of like that pre-flight safety speech you hear before your plane takes off where they say, and I paraphrase, “In the event of a decompression, masks will descend from the heavens to save your lives. Put on the damn mask in front of you first before you attempt to assist someone else.”

In short, help yourself before helping others.  Five simple words, one potent solution.  Though I assure you – as you may already understand – this is not as simple as it sounds, unfortunately.

I will still ask you to try, or if you’re like me, keep trying.  While we have so much we’d like to forget about this year, I rather take a different approach and remember it all, down to the dates and time of when it happened and the color of your shirt you had on right when you learned about it.  Remember how you felt, what you felt.  Be honest about what you did, and how you reacted.  If there are signs of regret, find a different vantage point, see through different lenses to see what you could have done otherwise.  If fate offers you another chance, know that having the guts to be different will often yield better results.

Rinse (with soap and water for at least 20 seconds).

Repeat.

Contrary to popular belief, we actually do have the wherewithal to refinance a morally bankrupt society and in turn, redefine and reinvent human kindness.  And you don’t have to look no further beyond the last twelve-month dumpster fire.  That’s a win, right?  You don’t have to go as far back as 1964 or 1918, or read up on the Spaniards or small ass Napoleon’s life.  Nope, just January 1, 2020.

Won’t cost you a penny.  Five simple words, one genuine truth.