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9/28/2008 Chronology It has never ceased to amaze me how a single moment can be interpreted in so many different ways. Of course, anyone interprets their surroundings in their own characteristic way, but even a single person! How a single person's experience of a certain moment or memory can differ so much, merely depending on his phychological state, is... We've been trying for centuries to find some sort of pattern in the dynamics of the human mind, hoping to find some way to get the slightest sense of control over it, but it seems like we're just too damn inconsistent to predict. This weekend has been a very clarifying one for me. It might have something to do with all the writing I've been doing but, with this new chapter in my life ahead of me, it's been very gratifying to look back at life. Actively accepting past memories as a part of who I have become, has brought up a whole bunch of answers I didn't even know I had the questions to. I'm not sure where this all came from all of a sudden, but as you might've noticed from these last two updates... Well, you've always heard me talking about how fast time is going? It seems the past has finally caught up with me this weekend, I think it's because of some people coming across my path - some new, some I hadn't seen or spoken to in 15 years. It has actually been quite a pleasant surprise being confronted with the past like that! Sure, it's not all good memories that have been popping back up, but all in all... All in all I'm so very proud to be able to say that I'm satisfied with the way everything has gone. And where it has brought me now. And even where it seems to be going. It feels like I've gotten back in touch with the past, where I used to be too caught up with the present. Now, I know I already wrote this before, but it came out so good that I'll say it again: "These memories are not just "a series of events that took place once"; no, you remember the way you interpreted those moments at the time that they actually occurred." But that's not all! It goes even further than that! Looking back at growing up, you can even remember your whole outlook, your whole impression of what-once-was "your world". And how different it is from the way you look at it now. It's fantastic to take a close look at your own development throughout the years like that. So, as I've been looking back like that, it has not only affected my awareness of the past. When you're comparing all these past interpretations of "your world", eventually you're bound to realize... That you'll probably be remembering this very moment, a day, week or month later! You start looking at the present, the way you would look at it in the future! You develop a whole new level of awareness! So then why does our interpretation of a certain moment, often differ from the way that we actually remember it? I mean... For example, do you remember your first kiss? Trust me when I tell you that your recollection of that moment, is NOT entirely accurate to your experience of that event at the time that it actually occurred. Not as much as you'd think. We interpret an event based on our first assumptions. We remember them in an entirely different manner. It first has to pass through our head, where it's processed, before being given a certain place in our memory. Some events don't even make it through the process! I'm sure that some of you that are reading this will know exactly what I'm talking about, when I say that we're more likely to "forget" certain memories that we'd rather not remember. Your head always tampers with the initial interpretation of any given event, before remembering it. We all romanticize our memories a lot more than we'd often like to admit. For example, I don't think I enjoyed my first bikeride as much as I do remembering it. And even that first kiss would probably not have been as intense as we'd like to remember. Convenient, maybe, but it works both ways; a lot of people often stumble upon bad memories they had been 'refusing' like this for years... It's a dangerous tool. ...Here's question for ya: does this mean that we don't enjoy the present as much as we should, or do we just blow things out of proportion when we get the chance to? Either way, I've come to realize the importance to always be aware of how you're gonna be looking at the present in the future, the way you're looking at the past in the present. Live the present, in both the future and the past. 9/27/2008 Look Both WaysGood morning everyone (: Man, that update I wrote yesterday really got my writing-spirit back up..! Regular readers might already have noticed that I haven't been writing at all lately, but I must say that it really felt great to get back into it like that yesterday. Writing that particular update felt very different than I remembered, actually. Maybe it's the different writing-style, I don't know. I don't remember ever writing in that particular state of mind before, it was an amazing evening for me. And I must admit that I really missed that feeling you get, the morning after spending an evening writing about things. It feels very similar to the feeling you get when you just had a really good conversation with someone. One of those really rare conversations, in which you barely even think about what you're saying and the words just seem to come straight from the origin of who you are. I've come to believe that those are the only moments that we're ever really ourselves. Normally you're always thinking about what would be the most appropriate thing to do, say or be. Why do we always keep adjusting ourselves like that? Why is there always something or someone we feel we have to live up to? I'm sorry, I've only just found out what state of mind I'm in right now. This is going to be a long update... But I'm sure you'd be used to that by now, aye? ;) Right! First off, let me start by explaining what I meant with the title of that last update. Because, like I said; "And not just this particular period of time in my life, but also the different memories that made me into who I am today". I spent that update explaining the memories - now let me spend this one explaining just what's so damn special about "this particular period of time". Yeah, I guess that - with my absence from writing lately - I've got some explaining to do, about my current situation. Because to be honest, no 'really big things' have happened to make my situation all that different from what it was a few months ago, when I wrote my (second-)last update. The only thing that HAS really changed, is the way I look at it. And with that, the way I feel about it. It might have something to do with my grandfather not being there anymore when I returned home from New Zealand, I'm not sure, but "home" just hasn't been the same for me ever since I got back. Acquiring my diploma turned out to be a lot more of a hassle than I initially thought. The details aren't even relevant enough to get into, but to summarise a long, bullshit story, I was not allowed to take part in the exams last July. With these exams only taking place twice every year, this now means that I won't get another chance to do so until January. "But wait a second, I thought you said you were so happy with 'this period of time in your life'?" So what direction do I want my life to go?! That's a very good question Adrian, and I'd be happy to answer it for you. But before we get into that, I think it's important to realize the importance of realizing that it's important (:P) not to focus on the future too much. It shouldn't always be about where you're going - from time to time a person just needs to stand still and appreciate where he's standing right there and then. Because what's more important? Reaching your ideals, or the way you got there? So where am I now, then? I'm glad you ask. I'm not just finding out where I want to be going, but also learning the importance of appreciating just working on getting there. And that's what you're doing right now; actively working on your future. Determined, but not solely fixed upon your goal. Enjoying all that you've previously experienced - not just accomplished: experienced - you're enjoying the experiences you're doing up, while working on accomplishing even more! I'm working on working a job that I'll enjoy doing, so that I'll eventually be able to see even more of the world. Maybe even to support a family one day. I'm working a working a job, in a lovely town where I feel comfortable living with a social life that took years to bring about. I'm in love again. I'm going to concerts, witnessing all the artists perform the music that helps making the atmoshere in my life into what it is. I just lived on the other side of our planet for half a year! What more could a person want?! More. That's what. We always do. Which is okay, as long as you never forget to really appreciate what has been. And besides; what would life be, if we stopped wanting? 9/26/2008 I'm loving this part of my life......And not just this particular period of time in my life, but also the different memories that made me into who I am today. I seem to be stuck in the past today, remembering all sorts of memories from years ago. These memories are not just "a series of events that took place once"; no, you remember the way you interpreted those moments at the time that they actually occurred. You remember what a great impression your first day at school was when you took your first steps into that classroom. You remember the rush when you took your first successful bike ride on that little red bicycle. You remember how bad you wanted to fit in with the kids from your neighborhood, as you were exchanging marbles together. Your first big family-Christmas when you went to live with your grandparents in Bilthoven for a while. It's amazing how you can almost re-experience those moments, when you're just in the right mood. I can still hear those little sparrows' tchirping-noises echo their way through the alleyway next to our house in Utrecht. It seems so far way, but sometimes... When the mood strikes, you'll be right back there, falling off that goat when you tried to ride it in the backyard when your mom told you not to. How I miss those days sometimes. Today I've been reliving many of my memories back in Scherpenzeel, where I spent most of my youth (or at least the conscious part of it). All of a sudden we lived in this giant house, way on the edge of this really small town. And I had to cycle over 6 whole kilometers(!) to get to this school every day, where they had all these other kids. Some of them with a really weird accent. 1 of them was the little girl that lived next to us; Steefka. Every morning at school we would sit in a circle and talk about what we did that week. And after that, the teacher would read us a story of this little gnome called "Pinkeltje", before we'd get to go play with the biggest toy collection any kid could ever have at home. If you were lucky, you could even get to play with the wooden train! In this particular week, my older sister Adrianne was going to be coming by. We only ever got to see our sisters a few times ever year, so this was always quite an occasion! It had been a long time since we'd last seen her, but it was fantastic to be back together. After a while, my mother and this new friend of her's, "Gelu", were going to head out for a while, leaving the whooole house, all for ourselves! So we went to explore the house together and decided to crawl through the ceiling of the house. Once we got up there, we found out it was completely padded with glass wool and -- Aahhh, you wouldn't believe the itching... Mom even left us some bananas we could have, for when we got hungry. We helped ourselves to those after recovering from our "ceiling-adventure" and as we were working them down, Adrianne told us what a great idea it would be to throw those banana-peels way up to the ceiling. She said if you did it RIGHT, they would even stick up there! In the worst fit of giggles I ever had, we kept throwing the yellow fruit-remnants those 3 meters into the air until we had 3 of them stuck up there. The whole ceiling was covered in banana marks and we were having the best time ever..!! Yeah, it's so hard to believe that-... That that world, was already so many years ago. 15 Years, now. And that they will never "be" again... Time is racing by in front of us, and I'm just barely catching up. But I like to think that I managed to get a grip on it now, and take it in the direction I want to.. :) And I know exactly where that will be. |
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