Memory and History
A couple days ago I posted a snippet titled "Nostalgia." Now we know that nostalgia is an unreasonable yearning for something in the past, something that cannot be. But what we don't often think about is that everything is past. What we recall, we may hold so long as we can remember. What we record is history.
Imagine a movie being played reel-to-reel. (We have to go retrotech here for the imagery.) The top reel is the future, the lower reel, the past. As the film flicks by the lens the present is revealed, in this case 1/24th of a second for each frame. But the present can actually be defined by infinitely smaller units: nanoseconds. Nay, even less for instantly the "present" is the past. We cannot see the future. We may anticipate it, contemplate it, fantasize about it or even plan for it. But we cannot live it. Only the briefest of instants compose our present experience.
We cannot live in the past; it is gone. But we may remember it, recall it, relate it, thereby relegating yet more of our "present" to the past. What is your life without memory?
For all that philosophers and physicists may expound on this "time" we have, it is just as simple as we have limned it herein and just as complex as our memories allow.
Are you making any memories? Are you making history?
Is your hand in the hand of the Eternal Guide?
A couple days ago I posted a snippet titled "Nostalgia." Now we know that nostalgia is an unreasonable yearning for something in the past, something that cannot be. But what we don't often think about is that everything is past. What we recall, we may hold so long as we can remember. What we record is history.
Imagine a movie being played reel-to-reel. (We have to go retrotech here for the imagery.) The top reel is the future, the lower reel, the past. As the film flicks by the lens the present is revealed, in this case 1/24th of a second for each frame. But the present can actually be defined by infinitely smaller units: nanoseconds. Nay, even less for instantly the "present" is the past. We cannot see the future. We may anticipate it, contemplate it, fantasize about it or even plan for it. But we cannot live it. Only the briefest of instants compose our present experience.
We cannot live in the past; it is gone. But we may remember it, recall it, relate it, thereby relegating yet more of our "present" to the past. What is your life without memory?
For all that philosophers and physicists may expound on this "time" we have, it is just as simple as we have limned it herein and just as complex as our memories allow.
Are you making any memories? Are you making history?
Is your hand in the hand of the Eternal Guide?
5 comments:
In answer to your final three questions: Yes, yes and yes. Seems to me that nostalgia is not what it used to be.
I am leaving the past behind, enjoying the present, and looking toward the future with eager expectation.
Blessings, andrea
Excellent answers, Chuck. I believe you pass with flying colors!
Also excellent, Andrea. "A" for the entire class!
Great post! I hope you have a great new year of blogging!
Thank you, Matt. And I wish you a great year of blogging and service to the Lord.. I'll be following your blog.
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