I remember when I took my daughter Roxy to her first day at school. The whole room was filled with parents taking photographs and videos to capture the event of their child’s first day at school. It was like a paparazzi nightmare.
The whole event became an event about the cameras. The teachers feeling awkward. The kids not knowing quite what to do or how to behave. Some parents, without cameras, ducking under the camera so they didn’t obstruct the views of the cameras. Apologising to the cameras.
I’m sick and tired of dramatising the past and being obsessed with memories of the past. To me, it’s not a shame that I didn’t capture the past on a video. It’s a shame when I don’t see the present. That’s the only shame. When I don’t invent a current life worthy of seeing through the video lens of my mind.
When you do everything for nostalgia, you transfer all power to the past. Death gains power over you when you worship the past because it makes the present feel empty. It keeps you from enjoying the present and inventing your future. Try and keep that in mind.
In the words of Eckhart Tolle, “Realise deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.” Amen to that.
