811

Know what’s below and call before you dig.  811 is the phone number set up to call before digging.  The purpose is to check for underground utilities that might be in the area where you plan to dig.  Even if you are planting a tree, you should call the number first.  Finding out the hard way by hitting an electrical or natural gas service can often times have deadly consequences.

For some reason, 811 reminded me of how often we all attempt to dig into the past.  For me, the classic one is when we just feel the need to know about the past of someone we are dating.  We just have to know how many people they dated before us, how many people they’ve had sex with before us, do they still keep in touch with former lovers, and on and on.  I know I did it.  All it really amounted to was me being insecure.  In some instances, I even used it against them when in heated discussions.  Now that I’m north of 50, I look back thinking, why did I need to dig and what was the upside.  There wasn’t an upside.

Short of medical or maybe criminal history is there any upside into digging into someone’s past?  I think not.  Leave the past in the past.  Dragging the past into the present typically does nothing but bring consequences.