The thing about making a better past is that it is really hard to accomplish with your hands full.
When your house is on fire the primary suggestion is to Get the F*ck out !
Rarely is it suggested that one take the time to grab your little flower box of sex toys or take a moment to check if you have your favorite Fedora.
So why is it that I choose to hang on to past moments, as I move toward the promise of a different view, with the emotional structure I built in the past?
The thinking that brought me to today is part of the past I hope to evolve. And a lot like a physical structure, I have the option to just renovate instead of totally demolish.
One problem is that when you give me a sledgehammer it feels kinda good smashing the dusty rose tiles that now seem outdated and that may lead to the conclusion an Italian contractor I worked with was fond of saying … ” Da whola ting ees godda comma down”.
I was suspect of his motivations and certainly of the cost but in a way is that not the opportunity we have every day?
As difficult as it may seem to be every day I have the opportunity to look at my yesterday from a whole new view … if I so choose.
But that process is limited to the degree to which I attach myself to yesterday’s.
If I stay stuck I am missing life’s panoramic vista.
That’s like an architect rooting himself in one limited view … the facade may look good but the overview of the project will look like a Hollywood back lot or ( or more precisely) an “L.A. starlets front lot“- great from the front but not much depth behind the backdrop.
“ Do one thing every day that scares you”
For me that starts every day with the challenge of recognizing that yesterday’s view is gone… that my life experience is one day further deepened.
I can leverage those two facts to truly experience a new view today or I can trap myself in the illusion that the limitations of yesterday’s perspective are all I can hope for.
The challenge for me is architectural.
Like all renovations, it starts with deciding what to hang onto and what to release, all the while I have to consider the limitations of my ability to get the work done as I juggle with the only two hands I have.
Not to mention while seeking the most seamless way to do the “finishing“, right down to the baseboards, between what was and what I envision the future structure could be.
Everyone who has lived through a massive renovation knows it’s the ‘finishing’ that takes the most time. Yet the only way it’s accomplished is by focusing on the smallest details.
And while that requires continually backing up and looking at how the past sides against the present, one truth remains inévitable:
It will look different.
And good thing! ‘Cause sitting outside a burning house may be warm for a little bit but it won’t leave you enlightened for long .