I saw a question online the other day. It was “what is your favorite quote?” I thought about a meme I saw online about a person asking a Hindu monk…and this is not a direct quote…”how do I deal with the past?” The monk responded by saying to leave it in the past. It’s ended. The only real time is the present. And the reason we get upset by the past is that we keep replaying it in our minds. I also researched this a bit more and found these monks teach that dwelling on the past creates needless pain, while understanding it helps free the mind for the present moment.

Welp…I can sure attest to that! How many times have I thought about the past and what I wanted to have happen at what stage in my life, and of course those moments either happened at another stage in my life or not at all. I also studied holistic medicine for about 20 years on and off. I read books on Ayurveda, the East Indian holistic way of life about 5,000 years ago. And one of the big things I digested from those readings is that the only real time is the present. Even 5 minutes ago is in the past. So if you think back to your childhood, which is a long time ago if you’re a senior citizen, there isn’t a lot you can do about that period of time or the path that your life took up until the present moment.

Sometimes it’s just hard to not review your life when you’re alone thinking about stuff. You think back 30 years or more and wonder how you made it to where you are. And in my case I started blogging about stuff that happened along the way and even contemplating writing a book on that stuff.

It’s also interesting to follow your life path. You start following your dreams, you realize them but often a bit different than how you originally thought they might turn out, and then you move on to other areas that perhaps grew out of the path your dreams have taken, then branch out more into other categories that can promote who you are as the result of pursuing your dreams, and so on and so forth. It’s this trail that you could never have predicted but…here it is.

The past teaches us lessons such as “don’t do that again!” or “what was I thinking?” Haha! But it’s always said that you learn from the past so as to not repeat the things that didn’t work for you or stuff you just goofed up. But the past also reminds us of some remarkable moments that we cherish forever, and accomplishments that we’re proud of and have moved us forward in life.

What’s also immensely interesting is that when we do look into our past lives, we see this path over the years that most of us probably never thought we would travel. I started out as an opera singer and quite a good pianist. Well, the first local opera group I sang with was directed by a major organist who loved opera and wanted to work with good singers. My best friend was also a major organist. Because of them I went on to meet big-shot organists throughout my entire life. Why? I’m an opera singer! But now I’m a rather good modest organist as well. Learning organ just seemed to fall into place as the years went by. And, I do enjoy it. Who would have thought?

I was also a Polish Roman Catholic my entire life until my 50th birthday. When I had moved from Chicago to Boston to teach music with my best music bud who was Russian Orthodox, he introduced me to a Greek Orthodox priest he was very friendly with and suggested I become the organist/choirmaster at his church. I nearly fainted on site! I knew nothing about this church or their music. Surprisingly they hired me. O Bozhe moi! Well, I learned the Liturgy and basic music in about 4 months. I went on to study more of the Byzantine music in the Greek Church…music began in Byzantium. About 3 years later I became Orthodox and now belong to a Greek Orthodox Church. It ended up being the right thing to do for me.

I look back at my past and sometimes wonder…”what on Earth?!” But I do feel fulfilled by what I did and continue to do in music, my church and my life. And also interesting, the really tough parts of your life don’t seem to make that much of an appearance. Granted, I didn’t have horrific moments which I’m sure would be more prevalent when thinking back, but I did have several very uncomfortable situations I survived just fine plus a few surgeries I have also survived well.

So there. Don’t be afraid to look into the past. I’m sure you do. But don’t dwell on it. It’s in the past and that’s where it is. Done. We’ve all survived and hopefully for the better. When they say life is a trip, it really is!!!! And again, don’t forget to add pie. It really helps when you take that journey into the past. Pie. Cheers!

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