Further reflections on life

Our reflection of the past, present and to a lesser degree our future, becomes more acute as we get older (at least for me!).  In time, memories become somewhat blurry, very much like an "out of focus" image in the view-finder of a camera.  However, the analogy almost stops here!  

Whereas bringing the image into focus in a camera is a simple physical process of either adjusting the lens position or moving closer or farther from the object of interest, bringing memories into focus is a very complicated matter. 

Without delving much into the complexity of the human brain (of which I only have a little knowledge), there are a few things in life that help us sharpen our memories.  To name a few: Photos and videos from the past, old letters, diaries (if kept), chats with old friends, revisiting places of the past. These aids may (or will) help in sharpening our memories of events, but, what about old feelings and how they inter-mesh with our present and possibly future feelings? 

This leads us to a yet more complex field of view for which sharpening our memories would necessitate the help of a psychiatrist or psychologist.

My message from the foregoing comments is: One's life can be complicated by the events we encounter in our journey of existence. Whereas events cannot be reversed, feelings can, to some degree, be manipulated to either make one's life easier or more difficult. 

A "flash" of the camera analogy comes back to me one more time: In the camera world a lens shutter adjusts the exposure level of an image.  In the human world, peace with others is determined by the level of peace with oneself!

Hani Badawi
March 19, 2012