LIVING IN THE PAST #Issue 31

Is it self preservation or self destruction?

Hi there, dear readers

Welcome to Issue #31! I hope it finds you hale and hearty :) And to the batch of new subscribers I’ve had just prior to this issue - thank you so much for subscribing and it’s great that you’re here!

In this issue, I talk about living in the past, or least keeping one foot anchored there. Which pretty much describes me. All too often these days, I find my thoughts wandering back to my 20’s and imaging what a better time it was. I’m talking about the mid 1980’s - when the country was in much worse state than it is now (yes, honestly) - unemployment was horrendously high, living standards were just as bad for some, and, funnily enough, we had a very right wing Conservative party in power. See the link?

I got the idea for this issue watching the Top Gun sequel. And I’ll say just one thing about the film (I could wax ad nauseam on the film) - it’s probably worth giving it a go, if only to say you’ve seen what’s likely to be the “Film of the Year.”

But, without any spoilers, it’s a complete homage to the 80’s with a 2022 twist. And with that homage came some of the original music and even some of the original dialogue and camera shots re-created for the new film.

So you can imagine, that for such both an 80’s and Top Gun fan, for the duration of the film (2 hours 11 mins - if you’re wondering) I was fully back in 1986. And it was absolute bliss.

But, after coming down from my cloud 9 over the next few days, I realised just how dangerous living in the past can be. At our age, it’s very easy to look back at our 20’s, 30’s or even 40’s and wistfully wish we were back there.

Granted, there’s a certain pleasure in allowing yourself time to wallow in happier days where things were easier (or, in retrospect, they seem to be - rose-tinted glasses anyone?) But, as I mentioned above, that can be dangerous. You can be so focused on what happened in the past, that you miss the good things happening in your life right now. Believe me, there will be some good things, even if you’re in the middle of a horrendous crisis right now. And, as time is passing us by like a speeding freight train at our age, do you want to miss out on even an instance of what’s going on today? Both good and bad.

Trawling on the web, I found a great article that explains the situation far better than I can. It’s and article from Brand Minds on Medium and you can read the article here

If you’ll forgive me, whilst we’re on the subject of “Living in the Past”, I thought I’d include the video for one of my favourite tracks from 1970’s, which I don’t think has aged that much. Living in the Past was a huge hit for folk/rock bank Jethro Tull back then and seeing as it’s aptly named, here you go.

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So that’s it for Issue 31 - our trek down memory lane and why it’s best not to take up residence there. I hope the subject resonated with you, even in some small way. As usual, the next issue will be published in a fortnight’s time, but if you have any comments, please just reply to this email. It will find me :)

So, stay safe, well & happy until the next issue

Take care,

Una x