Things I Used To Do

The title implies that there are things that I have done in the past which I don't continue to do now. Whenever I remember these things, I go through the classic stages of nostalgia, attempting to rekindle past glory and then remembering why I stopped doing that thing in the first place. After that, I either choose to continually do it or return it to the discard pile of past activities. I'm a very sentimental person, so when I choose to discard something, trust that I gave it a lot of thought. It's a rollercoaster of emotions all to itself, one which, and I don't want to get ahead of myself, everyone goes through from time to time. No? Come on, what are you, like, born yesterday?

In my attempt to rid myself of this legendary writer's block that I find myself lugging, I wanted to write a series of posts every Thursday (because hasthag throwbackthursday) to document things that I recall from my childhood or even just something I stopped doing last week. Who knows, there might be a hidden gem somewhere that I could unearth. Call it pandering, call it nostalgia, call it whatever you want. Just, please, don't call it a waste of time.

I would like to think of this as some kind of catharsis. A catharseries, if you will. Not that I plan on sticking to a strict regular schedule, though I do plan to stick to posting only on Thursdays. This was partly inspired by @naquoya's Notes and @dreemit's World, as it's helping me the same way even though I'm just reading it (if you still haven't read those or followed them, then you should probably get right on that) If those series have wondrous effects on me, then I imagine writing something vaguely similar might just do the trick.

Authors often use past experiences to inspire their writing. Not that I'm calling myself an author, as I identify more as a storyteller. This practice often yields to more grounded work, with emotions oozing off from every line. Rightfully so, as the stories are inspired by events that happened in real life. With all of its advantages, sometimes it also causes authors to be anchored to them. Past glories, past trauma, past everything.

I often find myself bogged down by past experiences. As much as I hate to admit it, it affects my personal and professional life. I attribute it to an above average memory, but seeing as it has deteriorated recently, I'm running out of excuses. Really though, I just find it hard to let go (see sentimentality).

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Don't get me started about worrying about the future. Seriously. This is a post about past experiences, so I don't want to have a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of thinking ahead. As Alan Watts put it, there is no purpose in getting anywhere if, when you get there, all you do is think about getting to some other future moment.

I dabble in Zen Buddhism, and even though I'm not generally successful, I do try to drill it in my mind to live in the now. It's a continuous process, and one that I hope to master some time soon. In a couple of years or decades, at best. I always have my survival knife in hand so that I could kill the Buddha whenever I come across him.

It's my hope that this catharseries helps me to do just that—not kill the Buddha, but to use my past to propel me forward yet anchor me from straying too far into the future. The hope to find a balance in appreciating the now is the end goal, and one that I hope to share with everyone as well.

This was just an introduction, mainly because I want people to be prepared. Feel free to chime in the comments with your thoughts and suggestions, too. Buckle up because we're taking a trip down memory lane :D

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Speaking of the future

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