Understanding your past
July 30th, 2008
Some people say to just forget about the past and focus on the future. If people only focused on the future, than we would loose track of the present, and the past. The past, of course, is what the present and the future are made of.
Understanding where you come from and how you got here (the present) will help you advance towards a better future.
The past shouldn’t be a place where memories go to die, but rather a place where memories tell stories of life. Not all memories are pleasant, but not all unpleasant memories are from the past. The past is the key to the present, no matter how potentially unpleasant.
Your past is ultimately connected to everything that you are today. That’s just the way of life.
The real beauty of the past is that it is one gigantic window into who you were — connected by clues and evidence and information. There are countless untold answers to an abundance of personal questions buried in the past. Answers to who you were, and the entire history of who you have become. Even the most insignificant details add up to a much bigger picture — one with broad perspective and limitless understanding.
From your childhood to your adulthood, and everything in between. The only thing connecting now and then is history — your history.
History is not just how we remember the past, its how we understand it, and how we learn from it. History is the how and the why.
You cannot change your own history, but you can change the way affects the present by understanding it, and fundamentally… learning about it. Knowledge, no matter how old, is still knowledge — and knowledge is power.
Research your past.
Visit distant relatives. Go to family events. Plan family events. Talk about your past. Gather information. Start a family tree. Create a time line. Ask your relatives to contribute — stories, events, knowledge, photos, videos, documents, genealogy — anything that would be helpful to you. Share these contributions with other relatives and family members. Build a common understanding. Built a pool of family history. Listen. Learn. Relate.
Learn about your childhood.
Where were you born? Which hospital? What time? Why that particular hospital? Where were your parents living at the time?
Where did you go to school? Why that school? Where did you live? Why did your parents live in that town/city? What was your neighborhood like? Who were your friends? Who were your enemies? Who were your teachers? Who were you?
What made you happy? What made you sad? Why?
What was your favorite thing to do? Where did you learn to ______? What did you want to be when you grew up? Any sports? Hobbies? After school activities? Anything? What? When? Where? Why? With who?
Understand the how and the why.
By gradually understanding your history, you are connecting it together piece by piece. Each piece of the puzzle identifies the how and the why — and pretty soon, it all connects into one brilliant picture. A picture of you.