Greek mythology has the story of Orpheus, where his music so enchants Hades that Orpheus is allowed to rescue his wife. However he is told not to look back as they emerge. He does look back and loses her. Genesis has the story of Lot and his family, being the only good people in Sodom. They are told to leave before God destroys the city, but are told not to look back. Lot's wife does look back and is turned into a pillar of salt. Are there similar stories in other cultures?
never go back never look back always move forward always look ahead always look to the future not the past always be positive & dont dwell on the past there are soo many different messages inside the simple term "don't look back" a pillar of salt is interesting if it is factually correct salt would be quite valuable i wonder what relationship the salt has to anything if you are looking for strikingly pronounced behaviors you could compare to adventurers who would burn their boats on arrival to prevent anyone from running away the ritual act of burning a fire & the reality of no chance of escaping back into the past life dont look sail back is also used as a cultural practice of fire ritual in many cultures for thousands of years. having a fire might also be interpreted as a "dont look back" physical symbology
... is religion culture ? is mythology culture ? are you saying one persons culture is not mythology ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_journey_of_a_thousand_miles_begins_with_a_single_step
There's also, "Those who forget the past are doomed to relive it." Sodom was supposedly near the Dead Sea, where there would be no shortage of salt.
In one of the accounts of Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu, there's a parallel of the latter paying the price for not heeding general warnings, but it doesn't seem to involve a specific rule of "don't look back". Enkidu ignores instructions about how to act in the Netherworld (when he journeys there to retrieve some items). As a result of that, Enkidu is condemned to stay there. Gilgamesh pleads with the gods, and they allow the ghost of Enkidu to temporarily rejoin Gilgamesh. There is some kind of questioning session between the two that commences, but from there the text on the rest of the tablet is lost. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enkidu#"Gilgamesh,_Enkidu,_and_the_Netherworld" _
from burns Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me! The present only toucheth thee: But Och! I backward cast my e’e, On prospects drear! An’ forward tho’ I canna see, I guess an’ fear! ........................... and the rest of it Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie, O, what a panic’s in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty, Wi’ bickerin brattle! I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee Wi’ murd’ring pattle! I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion Has broken Nature’s social union, An’ justifies that ill opinion, Which makes thee startle, At me, thy poor, earth-born companion, An’ fellow-mortal! I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve; What then? poor beastie, thou maun live! A daimen-icker in a thrave ’S a sma’ request: I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave, An’ never miss ’t! Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin! It’s silly wa’s the win’s are strewin! An’ naething, now, to big a new ane, O’ foggage green! An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin, Baith snell an’ keen! Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste, An’ weary Winter comin fast, An’ cozie here, beneath the blast, Thou thought to dwell, Till crash! the cruel coulter past Out thro’ thy cell. That wee-bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble Has cost thee monie a weary nibble! Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble, But house or hald, To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble, An’ cranreuch cauld! But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy! Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me! The present only toucheth thee: But Och! I backward cast my e’e, On prospects drear! An’ forward tho’ I canna see, I guess an’ fear!
