Last night, we attended a high school drama cafe night — students singing, playing guitars, folk music, rock and roll, jazz etc. What blew me away was the combination of energy, sincerity, off the charts costumes (their normal outfits), and the absolute desire to do their best in front of hundreds of people.
I loved it. Being in touch with the teenage present, catapulted me back to my past and the dreams I had back then.
It takes courage to change and grow. We did it once when we were kids and there’s no reason we can’t just pick up where we left off decades ago and continue the process.
Chasing Backwards into our past doesn’t have to be a trip to the psychoanalyst. It can simply be taking the risk of opening our senses. Hearing the music of our youth, smelling and tasting the foods that we grew up with, seeing pictures of ourselves, our families, and friends back in high school, and having the courage to feel it.
Because we’re part of “the establishment” doesn’t mean that we have to be rigid and unable to learn and grow. We did it once back-in-the-day, and it’s exciting to do it again.
What’s it like for you to chase your past?
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Art Smukler, MD - Books & Thoughts 
Ironic you brought this up, Art. Just last week I was telling a friend I was very uncharacteristically revisiting the past – even going as far as trying to find friends I hadn’t had been in contact with for decades. My friend remarked a lot of people seemed to be doing the same thing. When I thought about it, I recalled two people I know (both in their senior years like me) had recently married their teenage sweethearts.
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Wow. Teenage sweethearts who are now “senior” sweethearts. That’s definitely a blast from the past. Thanks!
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I loved our music. We didn’t think it was too loud, but somehow our parents did. It’s kinda the same thing we thought about our kids’ music and now the music of the current generation even more so. It scares me, but maybe it’s just an evolution, hopefully in the right direction!
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Thanks! I agree. I think it’s human nature for teenagers to rebel, like an evolutionary need to be different and move forward.
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Let’s just say it is near impossible to get the past out of the mind, so I take advantage of it and use it to help advance my writing. The past may hurt to remember, but at times it makes good story copy, and the lessons learned can be spread to others.
Cheers, Don
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