Things of the Past

I try my best not to dwell on mistakes. To theoretically live without regret. It’s sort of a recent development that I’ve come to let the past go and turn my attention to the present and future. I’m a happier person because of it. My stress levels are way down and I feel as if I can fully embrace change.

But I don’t want that to sound like looking to the past is a bad things. There’s a lot to be learned from the past and from the things I and others have done. I value the past in a different way than the present and future. I know I still have a lot to learn by turning my mistakes into lessons.

I’ve been writing this novel for a while now. It’s coming along slowly, sure, but it’s coming along at least. And since it’s magical realism, it’s set in the real world, right around a year ago. Unsurprisingly, I’ve been in constant congress with the past because of this. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I’ve missed a lot. And I continue to miss things happening in the world. Sure, I pick up the major headlines (the elections, the *insert ridiculous U.S. legislation/executive order here*, the Las Vegas shooting, climate change, North Korea missile testing, etc.) but for the most part, that’s it. There’s so much more at stake that I’m utterly oblivious to by a large margin.

I guess it’s really only human nature to fixate on the things that directly influence us. But that’s just an overly generalized excuse at this point. Ultimately it boils down to a lack of caring. Maybe I just didn’t care enough about what was happening in the world. I, like many others, have suddenly begun to care more and more about the world around me since the election. It made me care enough to start this blog. To voice my opinion on things. To pay attention to the big things. And that’s a step in the right direction, right? In this last year alone, so much has happened around in not just this country, but the whole world, that directly influences most of us. And I’m really just glad that I’ve made progress toward paying more attention to the world around me and giving a shit about it.