The Past as a Map for the Present

Posted on March 1, 2008
Filed Under Awareness |

The older many of us get, the increasingly dependent we seem to become upon our memories of our past. There are a few ‘old’ people whom are the exception to this rule, but in general it holds true that age makes it difficult to relate to the present moment. We probably all know someone that constantly refers to ‘when they were a kid’.

One guy I know in his early 60’s (and 60 is by no means ‘old’) is totally stuck in this form of thinking. All in all he is a very interesting guy to talk with, yet he has a lot of difficulty relating to modern issues. To create a metaphor, it is as though he is driving through life, more concerned with what is in the rear-view mirror than what is in front of him. This ‘rear-viewing’ acts as a filter through which everything else is processed.

You know how the deal goes; you mention the recent earthquake, and they talk about the earthquake from 20 years ago (which was inevitably larger and stronger). In many ways this can be pretty endearing in certain people, it’s a form of nievity - fleeing into the past because the present is overwhelming. This is understandable, because for many people relating to the modern world is very difficult. GM food, the Internet, cell phones are prime example. Of even more drastic note are the effects which these technologies have had upon the modern population.

The acceleration of knowledge, awareness and dependence upon technology seems to grow almost exponentially - so when faced with this - if you are the type who especially likes routine and standardization and haven’t move forward in your thinking since the 70’s, then you are presented with a world that is pretty much alien.

So the choice becomes live in an alien world, or retreat back into the past. Most will favor the latter option. The problem with this is that you can never fully relate to current events. And you will certainly have trouble relating to those people around you who’s reality-tunnel is embedded into the present age.

On the other hand a strong view of the past is always a very good way of dealing with life, after all to forget the past is a pretty big mistake. Yet ‘rear-viewing’ is compounded by the fact that the individual rarely takes the present moment into account as an isolated occurrence. If you constantly relate to the past and won’t relate to the present then that will certainly cause a lot of issues for you.

To paraphrase a cliché; those who live in the past are condemned to repeat it.