My family history project has me looking back a lot. I remember when my grandparents, aunts, and uncles wanted to tell me long tales of old when I was young. I was impatient as I was so full of present-time activity, thoughts, and pursuits. But now, like my relatives of the past, I'm immersed in stories of the past. Why?
First, this has a lot to do with the wonderful times I had as a child as well as my quest to understand who I am and where I'm headed. When I look back, I see so many images and videos that both affirm the experiences I remember and challenge those memories too. For example, when I look back, I can see that sometimes social standards and expectations misrepresented who we thought we were. As a young girl, I often felt not-up-to-par with regard to social standards, yet when I look at the old videos and images, I recognize that I was very much a happy, young girl. I wish the social standards of the time had been more accepting of the many ways people presented rather than holding narrow guidelines about who you should be and what you should do.
Going forward these stories of old help me to remember the good times and look for ways to repeat similar threads of positivity and happiness. For example, in the video I included here, clearly we were having a great time. This video is an example of the family events we had repeatedly throughout the summer months. We would gather at people's houses or public parks and play, play, play. That's what fostered our great camaraderie going forward. I want to repeat those wonderful kinds of times with my own family and friends.
Also, captured in this video are special times we had with people who passed. One of my uncles died early, and in this video, though blurry, you can easily see the love he had for his children and the great spunk he had for life. His children can watch a film like this and remember that warmth as well as forward that story, video, and warmth to their own children.
It's important to look back to gain wisdom and direction for the future, and it's also important to balance looking back with living today and into the future. Onward.
Note: I purchased the song in the video above, Memories by Maroon 5. As I continue the project I'll learn more about copyrite and share rules/privileges with regard to music and video. I welcome your knowledge in this area.