The story we tell is often complicated and elaborate. A skewed point of view of our perception of the world, spit out in first person mostly. Or second. Maybe third. Factually, I flip all over and try and only go third person for sarcastic affect. We tell them to entertain, to teach, to chronicle and to come to terms with the the world we are sliding through. As I get older I (we) grasp on to our past through them, nostalgic recounts of a space in time we want to remember fondly of. Nostalgia is one of my favorite things. In its quest to relive the best parts of the story of our lives. Parts that bring us to a place in time. Is it living in the past?  I mean technically i guess, but the warmth of nostalgia is a wonderful thing. 

Memory is a crazy thing, formed from chunks of what happened, what we wanted to happen and what we sometimes tell ourselves happened. Like an old mans story that grows in its absurdity over the years or an act we embellish in our mind to explain away what we think about our selves. It’s no wonder first hand accounts of things in courts and trials aren’t trusted. I don’t remember what I wore on Friday with any certainty. How could I remember what I saw in the 90’s?

Recently though I started thinking about nostalgia from the idea that it can steal a lot of joy of the present. Like we are rushing to get done with things now so we can look back on them at a later date as something more than.  This I imagine would be a crappy employment of nostalgia.  

There’s a lot of talk nowadays about being present and being in the present. I mean I don’t disagree, but I sometimes have a hard time doing it. Distraction. Finishing one thing so I I can rush off to the next. Jumping out of bed at the crack of dawn to get to doing. It begs the question of how do I enjoy the present?  To “be” more?

I don’t have that answer unfortunately. I guess if nothing else it starts with an awareness of it. That pump of the brakes to take it all in. 

For many years I’ve ridden bikes early in the morning.  Like dark early. Sometimes I’ll get up, ride 30 miles and get home before the sun comes up. I always joke with friends that it’s like it didn’t even happen. For as much as I exercise outside, I don’t take a lot of the outside in without really trying. To be fair I don’t want  to be sun gazing and trip and  go yard sale either, but I am trying to be more aware to slow a little and take it in. 

All of life can feel like that at times. You go through days or weeks on end and don’t even notice your surroundings. Weird.  No wonder we aren’t nostalgic for that. 

As I write this the weather in South Louisiana is beautiful and Mardi Gras is in full force. As you’re out there creating the memories you’ll maybe look back on in 20 years. Slow down. Notice.  Be present.

#hugsandhi5s