This morning on my run I had a glitch with my headphones. Only part of the sound was coming through. The guitars, bass and backing vocals all came through crystal clear while the drums and lead vocals were inaudible. Occasionally the vocals could be heard but only as a kind of echo. Each song that played was a muted version of what it normally is and those echoes were the only reminders of the lyrics of the normal song. The only song that came through relatively clearly was “Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction because it was from live recording rather than a chopped studio version.
As I ran, I thought about how we are always living in the present but we experience the past as a form of an echo. The moment that we remember is long gone, much like the source voice to an echo. However these echos shape much of what we think about ourselves. Some of these memories are more than echos because they push us in particular directions, more like waves of water rather than sound. If you’re anything like me, there are probably memories that act more like tidal waves that can crush you at a moment’s notice. The question becomes why? Why give something that much power? The answer should be simple, only give that much power to constructive rather than destructive forces.
Since the past is gone and only represented in these echos, they should be used to serve and not to destroy. It is possible to turn up the volume on those echos that can carry you forward and mute the ones that do not serve. It comes down to a decision about focus. Take the memories that will help you and make them a daily part of your. Make them a tidal wave if it’s warranted. If you don’t have any that will do that, make future memories, if your mind is inundated it cannot tell the difference. The waves of your past can put you on the rocks! Unless you use your rudder and your sails to get caught in the positive current. The future should be a destination to behold not a rerun of the old.
Pete
Huryk Unlimited 