Back in time

Isn't it funny how a song can instantly transport you back in time. Or a smell or a food? The past few days I've have several moments where a song or smell instantly transported me back in time.

The smell of Opium perfume takes me back to my 18 day trip to Hawaii when I was 25. It was probably one of the bravest vacations I had ever had up until that point in my life. I went with some friends but I purposely took time away to do things on my own several days and I couldn't have had a better time. I spent time at the Marine base there, made some new friends - like on the bus tour and then I was voted queen of the luau and then days later I'd be walking on the street and some random stranger would recognize me and scream out Alele lolo - which meant crazy queen. I'm sure I didn't spell it right at all but it's a fun, fun memory. I bought that perfume special for that trip...it was an indulgence and yesterday I smelled it on someone one and it brought a flood of memories back to me.

I remembered the flea market I had to buys so much stuff at and I don't own one piece of that stuff anymore. The pineapple factory I visited and the mumu shop...yes I bought one...ha ha ha. The swim up bar at the Ileki hotel that I wasn't staying at but I would sneak over and swim there and order drinks and randomly charge them to some room. Oh yes...I was a rebel! It's funny how a smell can bring that all back.

What am I doing now that will come back to me in 5 years or even a year? What will trigger memories for me going forward? I know you can't plan or control them but it's funny how somethings happen and you have no idea of their significance in your own life until they are way over. What are we doing on a daily basis to build that for our future days?

Is every part of our lives connected with the past? Do we ever get to a point in our future where we don't even think about, miss, talk about the past? Is our ultimate goal to keep moving forward, to keep sailing towards that next shore and just leave it all in our wake? How do we know what is worth hauling along for the ride and what's worth dumping on the shore?