They say that in one lifetime we live many lives.
Even when I was younger, this notion resonated with me, perhaps because we moved every two to three years. Maybe because I had more clarity when I was young and unspoiled.
The magic of photos and videos allow us to juxtapose our many lives in ways our ancestors could not. I have an abundance, but my children will have even more images (moving and still) thanks to the culture of smart phones.
What about your many lives?
When you look back on the years and lives you’ve lived, what words capture each stage?
What would the years look like on a graph, and what x and y axes would you use?
- joy–sorrow?
- eagerness–dread?
- loved–lonely?
- adventures–doldrums?
- self-confidence–self-doubt?
Do some of the lives you’ve lived weigh more than others?
Which ones have you hidden from the world, maybe even tucked away from yourself?
If the 20-years-ago you were to run into the 5-years-ago you, would you recognize each other? Would the today you recognize the past yous?
My lives
In the spirit of fairness, I’ll answer some of the questions I’m posing to you. So…
- heart wide open → obedient parent-pleaser → athlete & academic → wild & reckless → wife & mother → writer & lover
- wild & telling graphs measuring joy, self-confidence, fun, overwhelm
- absolutely, yes
- I’ll never tell.
- I hope so.
A life in images
Returning to the magic of juxtaposing images from the many lives…
I don’t know about you, but one reason I think the many mes would recognize me still (and me the many mes) is that when I see that photo of me at the World Fair in New Orleans, holding my newborn in the hospital, running with bread I bought from the bread truck in Spain… something inside me reopens.
I’m sure I can’t conjure them completely, but I remember thoughts, emotions, messy entanglements of hope and fear, the chaos of dread and eagerness. Maybe because I do believe we live many lives in a lifetime AND we carry them forward with a single heart.
©Pennie Nichols. All Rights Reserved. 2022
This brought me to a standstill …deep in thought.
Knowing you, you rarely stand still and not for long! I hope the pause was a refreshing one. 🙂
“we live many lives in a lifetime AND we carry them forward with a single heart”. That says it perfectly, Pennie! I’ve love my past lives, despite the times of the most growth (the very worst of times). I love this one. All of them I carry forward!
Thanks, Diane. Me too. I carry them all forward.
Such great questions! There’s such a marked change from the person I was 20 years ago – I almost don’t want to look back at her! But she’s me too and I gratefully embrace all the parts of me!
I think it’s best to be mindful of and embrace all of ourselves.
Yes, what would my 30 year old self (let’s say) think of my almost 70 year old self? I can look back at my various lives: student, almost-teen coping with the untimely death of her mother, young adult who loved camping, the military wife, the 30-something living in a wood heated cabin in rural Arkansas, the 38 year old first time mother, the semi-retired current me working remotely from home? A single heart through all of these? Yes. And I know I’ll continue to live new lives as long as I am on Earth.
Beautiful, Alana!