BACK TO THE FUTURE

STEP BACK IN TIME AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND



"I CAN ONLY NOTE THAT THE PAST IS BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE ONE NEVER REALIZES AN EMOTION AT THE TIME. IT EXPANDS LATER, AND THUS WE DON'T HAVE COMPLETE EMOTIONS ABOUT THE PRESENT, ONLY ABOUT THE PAST"
Virginia Wolf

The idea that one could go back to the past and fix problems and find root causes of dilemmas that exist in the here and now. Only to be able to alter the here and now for a more favorable position. HERE AND NOW

In the movie Back To The Future, Marty traveled back in time and had the ability to look around at his parents life and his family's beginnings. He sensed the opportunity to change the course of his future. He could change his entire family's social and economic status. He could save Doc from terrorists and he could personally be able to put himself into a more favorable position. And not just for the present here and now, but for his future. GREAT SCOTT!!!!!


IMAGINE!!! Can you and I do this? YES WE CAN. We can in a sense go back in time and take a look around. We can connect to the past with vividness. We can see things in a new and fresh way we've not noticed before. Our lives and perspective continually change. We continually mature and grow as individuals. Each time we go back and look around we can encounter stories, conversations, events and so on that mean something completely more profound to us. Before Marty traveled back in time he probably had no interest in the events that surrounded his parents life in high school. Yet, when he did encounter them 1st hand, he realized the reality of the events and how they would define and characterize his parents and their children. He saw how there life's story would be the foundation and roots of his life.


In reality, we cannot go back in time and literally change the past like Marty did. If you've found a way let me know. We cannot even change all of our here and now circumstances. But, the most meaningful change that has the potential to change our present and future for a more favorable position happens within ourselves. O.K kinda corny, but true. It comes down to accepting or rejecting the past. It's about being truthful and honest within ourselves OR close our eyes and lie to ourselves.

For everybody who journals or communicates their life's' journey in any kind of form, as I've said before, it's a process. I'm not pointing out just about how to write and journal well. Rather, digging up the raw and pure truth out of us and communicating it clearly to our own satisfaction.


Mr Strickland, "No McFly has ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley."

Marty McFly, "Yea, well history's gonna change."


Do you ever think about how your children, grandchildren,and so on will see your life's' journey? And how they might relate and connect to it.

Honest reflections, be it looking back 1,2,3 generations or even ay yourself, have the strong potential and force to provoke better decisions for our future.

I dare you STEP BACK IN TIME AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND as you go back to the future.

DON'T DO IT EVERYDAY - ONLY KEEP PUSHING

Many people make it look easy to write and express themselves. They are masters at language (word crafts) and can paint a clear picture of their thought and ideas. It's like they were born with it. In fact, they are hard workers. Day in and day out they work to master their passion. And through time their long, tired, and painful process of their passion grow wings and take flight. Then the sky is their limit. Great masters of crafts don't soar to heights overnight, THEY KEEP PUSHING. In essence, to journal, in whatever form, is pushing & persevering through. Don't be discouraged. Every small action is a significant part of what you are trying to achieve.




My advice: DON'T DO IT EVERY DAY

In the beginning, don't to it everyday. Alot of people have the idea that you must stick to it everyday. Sure, you want to make it a habit. But forcing yourself everyday will get frustrating, especially finding time to do it. Don't be a drill seargant on yourself and don't battle for time and space. Take your time. Like cooking a good meal, our thoughts and memories take time to marinade and simmer to bring the best out of every ingredient. After all, the intention to journal is to keep our memories fresh and vivid. But remember, KEEP PUSHING.

HERE'S SOME HELPFUL TIPS TO KEEP YOURSELF GOING.

CREATIVLEY FIND SPACE AND A PLACE

Sneak away quietly. Remember back in school how hard it was to concentrate on homework? How, the moment you gained focus something else "popped up" and received your full attention? Busy lives and responsibilities leave us with little to no energy for ourselves. Our space seems to get full fast. Think about stopping for 15 minutes on your way home from work to write down some thoughts. When the kids go to bed dedicate 10 minutes to the process. Get to work 10-15 minutes early and don't get out of your car until you've written something down or at least thought about it. That totals to 30-40 minutes gained on any given day. DO IT, SEE HOW YOUR WINGS START TO GROW!





COLLAGE WRITING

I do this all the time. Remember how a picture collage works? Alot of pictures cut in very differnt ways and non-uniformley pasted on one sheet of paper. Does your mind work that way sometimes? Is that how you remember events in your life? Bits and pieces here & there but not every detail? When short on time, write down as many pictures (bits and pieces) of your life that you've been thinking about. It does not need to be in any kind of order. You can always go back later to expound and put in order. The IMPORTANT thing is that you do it. The memory will not escape you again. Go back to your COLLAGE at any later time and write about it in further details.





STOP EVERYTHING & CAPTURE IT


Think of a priceless photo moment that may never come agian. What do you do? Carry on as usual or stop and capture it? I've done both and regret the times I carrry on with my day.
Great moments and epiphanies deserve time. They are memories that come out of the darkness of the past and into the light of the present. These are the ones that touch our emotions and feelings deeply. They do not come everyday and chances are you will forget the exact feeling, thought, or words if you wait until later to jot it down.

Give me some feedback.
Let me know some ways you journal. Do you find it difficult to do it everyday? How do you keep pushing?

Journaling

To keep a Journal is an established habit of brave souls and an on again off again attempt by the daring. But to a large number of people, it's an intimidating process. And it is just that, A PROCESS.
It's the blank page staring back at me. My mind goes blank. What style of writing do I use? I have an idea what I want to write about, but I have a difficult time finding a starting point. I feel like I'm rambling on.
I believe that the issue is not whether or not one wants to. But rather one's inhibitions:

• I don't have the time


• I don't feel like I know exactly how to do it


• I don't want to start something that I cannot finish


• It's difficult for me to write about myself


• I can't keep up on it everyday


• Do I have to use a formal journal book


• I have a hard time expressing how I feel


• My life is ordinary and not very interesting

• I've kept a journal/diary when I was young and am so embarrassed what I wrote. I do not want to do that again.


• And Finally, I want to. But if I force myself, then it feels like a nagging chore. If it becomes a nagging chore, then I feel forced. And if I feel forced, then it will not be enjoyable. If it's not enjoyable, then it may end up being something different than what I really want.

These are plaguing thoughts that can block our motivation and ambition. In fact, it's our own self-conscienceness.

A couple of good motivational questions to help push through the blocks are:

1. WHO DO I WISH WOULD HAVE KEPT A JOURNAL?
2. WHAT DO I WISH I WOULD HAVE KEPT IN A JOURNAL?

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project http://www.happiness-project.com/ , has a method called "The one sentence journal". In 1 to 4 sentences, write down what happened to you, your spouse, or your kids that day. That is certainly a good start that can embolden you to dive deeper into the process.

There are other things to write in your journal as well. What off the wall word or statement did your child make (the inspiration behind the author of the comic strip 'The Family Circle'). Was there a distinct sound, sight, or smell at that given time. Was it sunny, cloudy, raining, morning, day, or night. Were there others around that stand out in your memory? What time of the year was it? How did you perform any common task around the house or workplace?

It's during these moments when we can recall the "surface facts". In her book LEAVING A TRACE: ON KEEPING A JOURNAL, Alexandra Johnson puts it, "At first, it' enough just to record surface facts. Yet the moment they are put on the page, a deeper movement of the mind is set in motion.". It's then that we want to keep our memories fresh and vivid.

We then attempt to tell the truth. In my private world all by myself I don't have to prove myself and I don't have to perform. I am not being judged, nor am I under a microscope. I can Simply BE. Be myself. Express myself. Share my honest self. When we DISCOVER this, something within us can can take a whole new shape. Seemingly new life emerges out of us. On a larger scale, our perspective of how we see ourselves, others, and life around us is fresh and anew.

I use the word DISCOVER because it has such an enlightening, profound, and fascinating meaning. Mirriam Webster dictionary definition:

1. to make known or visible
2. to obtain sight or knowledge of for the first time

This is great!! It is not something invented or fabricated. It is something that has always existed and waiting to be seen for the first time. It's to finally uncover and see the pieces and put them all together and form this new and exciting component of our lives. All the components for electricity existed before it was discoverd. The components existed. The components we need to tell our story exist within all of us and are just waiting to be known and seen for the frst time. Just as the discovery of electricity propelled us into another age, so to can our lives be propelled as we discover how to tell our story of our honest self. It's a process. But a process well worth the effort.

Years from now we can look back, remember, and not forget a period of time and significant events in our lives

A few things to consider:

• Do I make it personal or private? Or both?
• Am I writing to someone?
• Who do I wish to know and see this?

In short, a Journal can be as simple as a recollection of facts and events that take place in ones life. Or, it can be a window into our lives that would share intimate details to the extent as one wishes. It can be as personal, as private, and as vague as one wishes.

Here are a couple of quotes for inspiration.

Virginia Woolf said, "Arrange whatever pieces come your way."

Winston Churchill said, "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."

Start telling your story in whatever form you wish.

If anything, start.

Stories, Anecdotes, Accounts, Tales, Cuffers

In our eyes they may be big or small, significant or insignificant, worthy of someones time or not.

Mr. Rogers said, "I feel the greatest gift we can give to anybody is the gift of our honest self."

Whatever our current view of our personal experiences are, our personal stories have a need to be told. They also have a need to be known. It does not matter how big or small.

Closing our mouth is worse than being mute.
Closing our eyes is worse than being blind.

Sharing true stories can be fulfilling for both the teller(s) and the recipient(s). We Connect - We Discover - We Identify - We Understand - We Learn - We Get Inspired - We Can Inspire. True Stories often stimulate personal growth on both sides. There is simply an inherent need to pass on stories and know other's stories.

In order to share our personal stories we sometimes have to achieve personal growth. It requires courage, examination, vulnerability, trust, and truthfulness.

While the recipient can choose to grow or not is each individuals personal responsibility. The potential for growth comes from the tools that are passed from the teller to the recipient. It can transform our identity, values, and simply how we choose to live. i.e what we labor at - how we influence people, and decisions we make.

Every person has a story(s) to share. There are people around us that need to hear our story.