Judy and I were sitting on the front porch of her sister, Joan Simpson’s, farmhouse on Amherst Island, house sitting while she and husband Dan took a few days vacation. It’s a great day for sailing and we’re watching boats tack up and down the channel. We couldn’t help but remember our many years of sailing. Judy remarked that she had a hard time not wanting to go back to the Bahamas where we had spent five winters aboard our 42’ sloop. That awareness helpedto steer our conversation to memories in general.
We all know the saying, ‘You can’t go back.” But isn’t it hard to not want to do it all again! How can we not want to repeat times that were so special?
It seems as if there are two kinds of people, those who remember the best and those who dwell more on the negative. Those of us in the lucky, more positive group, I’m sure, remember things to be a bit better than they probably were. Even if we could ‘go back’, we’d be disappointed.
And aren’t we lucky to have it this way? The best is all there, stored in our minds, forever. Those memories uphold us in all our futures, never to be lost. But the desire to return, is a black-hole, a complete waste of time. Repeating experiences is not only impossible, the illusional desire to do so keeps us from utilizing our memories as foundation for the future. The desire to ‘re-do’ anything sucks emotion and energy from what is still possible.
So, yes, I often think of our adventure of sailing across the Atlantic. I miss those years when we wintered in Freeport. I often think about our years as live-aboards in Toronto, and how we invited people to sail every Sunday afternoon (up to forty people onboard). But for now, I’ll just imagine myself on-board one of those many vessels coming by, sharing in memory with those who are enjoying themselves with the wind and water. And if we did that then, just imagine what may lie ahead!Ain’t life great?
All those experiences give us confidence and hope for new roads, planned and unseen. Welcome to life.
Anthony
