Memories | Tracks In The Dust

Archive for the tag “Memories”

14 May 2012

Your Love Story

My wife will tell you I am a sucker for a love story. Old movies in particular always showed up in my life since I was a kid. I used to watch the classics and the not so classic black and white movies from the 30s and 40’s every afternoon after I got home from school. Not very masculine I know…but the “arts” have been my life since I was a kid so it just stuck.

Even as I got older I kept watching. Compact 2 hours or less of a story about a man and woman in love, out of love, after someone else, coming back to the one they loved from the start. Sometimes they were musicals, sometimes dramas, some where what they call “rom-coms” these days, romantic comedies. They weren’t all good, some where predictable, sugary sweet, silly plots with little to do than filling up the time it took to watch it.

Yet some were works of art, with famous people like Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable. So many names that mean very little now to the young movie goers today. Yet as I grew older I remember falling in deep love with Ali McGraw in Love Story. Just because she dies at the end it made it all that harder to wonder what things would be like with someone like her.

The saying “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” became famous as the book and movie. The romantic notion that life is like a movie wasn’t passed on me. But I knew better. Life is more than that compact couple of hours. It has more ups and downs, and may not have those fateful meet-cute scenes where the star meets the starlet and they fall in/out/in love. And those silly mis-understandings that make up so many of the middle parts of the plot with that secret that the viewers know; and eventually the love interest will know and make for the happy ending. Or the sad one.

Love is more than that in the movies, it takes commitment beyond the final reel where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan meet at the top of Empire State or in the park with Barkley (references you may not know if you don’t like these kind of movies). I have learned that- but then I always knew that even back when I was in grade-school watching those classics. It takes an effort to be in love, give and take, some good days and some bad. Creating memories and making plans. God willing you get enough time in your life to capture it and spend it wisely. Some days are diamonds, some days are stones. Some people say that it us all part of your own life’s movie, others are not so oblique- they don’t see it that way at all.

In the end, love means what ever you need it to. Not everyone ends up with the “girl” or Mr Right. But love does conquer all…well sometimes. And it can move mountains…maybe just not the mountain you want moved. You may meet the person of your dreams, or you may dream about the person you meet. The real Love Story’s are ours to make. Get out there and make them.

What is your favorite love story? Book or movie? The one that captures it for you. You have one? – share.

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Ali MacGraw, being remembered, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, entertainment, Favorite Movie, Love, Love Story, Memories, moments, Spencer Tracy, Tom Hanks

19 Apr 2012

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The Value of Sharing

I have noticed lately that the value of the things in life seems to change as you get older. I remember as a much younger guy putting so much value on certain possessions in my life. Some of them I collected them up like a hoarder, thinking that if I had the biggest number or the most unique I was going to be more fortunate or recognized for it. Others sat in a drawer or a closet as treasures that would remind me of the past, or as something that signified a special moment in time that was only captured in the self-designated souvenir.

No doubt if others examined these things, most of the items would seem to have no significance to them at all. Many friends and family my age have shared the same experience; over time so ironically many of the things they have collected have become less significant. Memories fade, priorities change, the reason for having them becomes obsolete. Those collections of jewelry, record albums, magazines, books, clothing and the like… just don’t seem to be as important as they once were.

As I got older I began to understand that many of the major purchases I had accumulated over the years didn’t seem to be as valuable either. In some cases now, it has become more about function over the form of it. After all they say “you can’t take it with you”. I have begun to cherish the value of “time”, of nurturing relationships, sharing the virtues of living with those I love most- my wife, family and friends.

Sharing the good news of eternity while carrying out the mission we all have while we are here on Earth. That has more significance than the collection of possessions or souvenirs I could collect. Memories and experiences I was trying to capture in keepsakes aren’t as important as finding ways to share them with family & friends and those who may just want to know.

Perhaps that is why blogging and social networks are so popular these days. Like “posting” something to share can be so digitally permanent it can mean something more, in comparison to those collections of possessions that often only get dusty or spent with age.

Like tracks in the dust, over time our footprints will fade away- but the souls of the people we interact with in a positive way will help to carry-on long after we are gone. Corny yes- but..“The love you take is equal to the love you make”

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged Eternity Matters Most, Joy, life is precious, Love, Memories, moments, relationships, Sharing, Sprituality

17 Mar 2012

In A Hurry

Being in a hurry seems to be standard practice these days. Everything moves so quickly, like a high speed connection on the Internet, a picture or a comment becomes instantly shared with the world.
We seem to be asked to grow up so quickly, get on with things and be fast about it. Be sure what you want and go get it before someone else gets it.

We make split decisions about so many things, some are not so important while others are critical… But there we go. Like a speeding car on the highway, zooming ahead like we are in a race. If we stop to look too long, will someone notice our indecision? Will we be accused of lingering, running behind?

In slower times we may have had time to contemplate the road ahead. We may have taken time to imagine the consequences of our our direction. instead we are told “just go for it”- carpe diem. Later we ask the questions that may often be too late. Things we may not even noticed before. Regrettably we missed them, those valuable clues to the quality of life and living.

So now we move ahead, trying to get by. Taking things as they come and showing our bravery by dealing with it. But how much have we missed? Take care to take a moment and breathe it in, sample the surroundings and admire the shear beauty of the simple things that are there. They remain the landscape of our life in which we exist, in this moment until the next-never to return again to the moment we are in. Except to remember it as best we can, hopefully not in a blur but in a panoramic image of wonderful memories.

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged cherish, Life, Memories, moments

20 Feb 2012

Enjoying the Passage of Time

A smell, the weather, a certain sound, a book, a song, a painting, a color, a texture. So many things capture memories, trigger the recall of things that have been- things that are. The best ones are those you don’t seek I think. The memories you don’t conjour up. They just appear, they just show up in a dream, on a walk, sitting with your friend, your lover.

They take you through time and capture something that was hidden in your brain, a feeling, a thought, a place you’d forgotten, a person who has long since not been part of your life. That is the building blocks of who you are. Those are the things that perserve the fabric of your being.

Yet, some other days seem void of things, almost like they come and go so quickly that they blend in with each other. That is when we need to remember what is really important. Don’t run away from it, don’t force it or be angry because that day has come and gone with what seems like no purpose. Just embrace the passage of time and be aware of every small victory, every simple opportunity to provide grace to those around us. It only makes those empty days full.