What Was, What Is, What Will Be

Lately, I’ve been reminded of how truly near and dear my friends and family are to my heart.  For a while, although I was in the room, at the same table, standing right next to a friend or family member, I wasn’t really there.  My physical self was present, my movements played out, but my heart- my emotions- they were absent.  Life, although I was living, had vanished.  I was on the sidelines, not invested, but watching, observing, gathering.  

As my metaphorical self sat, watching (probably eating popcorn with hot sauce for those of you that know me especially well), the definition of life teased my mind.  I was amused with the idea that I knew people’s past, yet I also knew their present.  I could look at someone and bemuse myself with whom I remembered them as and who they were now.  For many, who they were in earlier years was far from whom they were as a mother, father, career-driven worker...geez, just as an adult.  This comparison made me laugh, but it also made me think.  Your past is not the sole definition of who you are.  One of the blessings we have is that as we grow older, every moment suddenly isn’t current, or true, or fully representative of whom we are and who we are becoming.  That’s one of the greatest things about life.  Every moment turns into the past, and it doesn’t define our future.  We can forget it, remember it, revere it, hold it close, push it away, and do with it whatever we please.  To be able to look at life and see this two-tone color blend of past and present, to see the past suddenly start blending with the present- rather than overwhelming it- and to know that there is a girth of years between what you did and what is tomorrow is a very cool concept to unravel.  To know that what was, what is, and what will be all function together yet independently is to know that despite whatever happens, it’s always worth it.

And without the truly inspiring people with which I surround myself, I would have not realized this.  For that, I am forever grateful.