With Remembrance Sunday behind us, for another year, it leaves me reflecting on the past and how that has shaped our present world. We have so much to be grateful for and owe so much to those that gave their lives.
I feel proud to have followed in my Dad’s foot steps to join the RAF and, although I did not match his 35+ years of commitment, I did my bit and it shaped who I am today.
I never went to war during my service and I am eternally thankful, but others around me did go to Iraq and Afghanistan to protect others. Sitting here, in the comfort of my home, I can’t imagine how horrific it must have been, to experience fighting in a war.
It is good to remember the past so we can learn to avoid things in the future, or do things differently to prevent such events from taking place again. Although there are many wars still going on, there is hope that, one day, we will be able to negotiate and talk instead of killing each other.
The big lesson, and a reason for remembering WW1 and WW2, is so that it never happens again and we do, whatever it takes, to reduce the risk of conflict on such a scale, for future generations.
On a brighter note, we are a human race that can learn and adapt and we have demonstrated our ability to fix things that we, probably, broke. We are forward thinking and progressive, creative and innovative, challenging and determined. We have the ability to shape a better world save the planet and do amazing things. We sometimes take too long to react to some obvious issues, but we do get there eventually!
Everything we have now, has come from learning lessons from the past. Our inventions have been fuelled by existing problems or by trying to improve something to make life easier / better. We are good at learning lessons from the past.
I will wear my poppy with pride and I hope you will too.