It’s good to just go through old things and remember when, laugh at yourself, and stir up feelings of long ago.
Every now and then I love to get in and dig out those old photos of friends, love letters my husband gave me (when he still had to work at it), and a few of my children’s baby clothes I just can’t seem to part with.
While our interests tend to revolve around what’s happening right now, and what’s trending on social media, walking down memory lane can actually be good for you.
Not only does it help you remember the good times, but it also shows you how far you’ve come, and more importantly, who has been by your side while doing it.
But looking back can also be a fun opportunity to spend time with family and friends delving into their pasts as well. Sometimes maybe it’s just hearing the good old stories you’ve heard a hundred times, new ones that come up along the way, or finding out the things they remember most.
Everybody has a story, and you can learn so much from truly just taking the time to listen.
Trust me, I remember how hard that seems when you are young. But I wish I would have taken more time to ask questions of those who now are gone.
As I’ve grown, I’ve become more interested in other people, and finding out what makes them who they are today. Whether this involves tales of hardship, how they define success, or perhaps how they found love and made it last.
It’s so easy to be consumed with self-obsession in today’s world. And the media drives us to be this way. But, ultimately, they are pushing us away from one another, and creating an inability to relate to others.
I don’t want to live in a world where my iPhone is who I have dinner with, where my laptop is where I store all my photos, but never print them, and where on social media I look at pictures of my friends, but never see them in real life.
I had an opportunity to spend time with a new friend the other day and listen to his stories. As he spoke, he pulled out many old photos, cards and memorabilia, and we spent time together looking through it all. While black and white photographs pasted in an album seem to be a thing of the past, the funny thing is that if you look close enough, you see people just like you. Because looking into the faces of the past, you see people full of hopes and dreams, as you are today.
Whether a picture is 100 years old, or was taken yesterday, it amazes me how technology, infrastructure and business may change and evolve, but yet, people — ultimately — remain the same, no matter what time period you are in. We’ve had the same basic interests and needs since time began.
It makes you realize we’re all a part of something bigger than ourselves. But it’s the individual pieces and parts, like a quilt, that are hand-stitched with love, care and patience, that come together and make it all so special.
So pull up a chair and kick back, reflect on the past, call up an old friend, write a new love note, or just make time to laugh with one another. Everything seems so straightforward when you look at it through black and white.
