Recently Facebook added a feature called Timeline. I haven’t really checked into it but for those who have changed over, it looks really cool. I wish I was more computer savvy because I don’t even know how to turn my profile into the ‘timeline’ (among other things), but the feature basically chronicles in order your pictures and posts for I don’t know how far back (maybe you all can help me with this). I’ve heard some comments from some of my friends saying they did not like this feature because they were forced to look at old pictures and older comments which some have regretted putting out there. Facebook made our days public and now it’s in chronological order for all to see. Are there things in your past you wish you could take back or change? I read a quote which said, “People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them.” ~James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son.
If you’ve read my book or my blog (well, obviously you’re here), you know that I love hearing people’s stories. We are all shaped by people, events, and decisions from our past. The quote I mentioned says that people are trapped in history, well, to some extent we are. I decided to pursue science over music and here I am, trapped? Not really, just a different path. I have a friend who grew up in a home of alcoholics, his siblings are now both alcoholics, but him….no. He decided to change the pattern of history and create a new legacy for him and his family. The second part of the quote says that history is trapped in them. Absolutely, we are who we are because of where we came from. My cancer is part of my history, my story, but I will not let it trap me. We have the chance every day to learn lessons from our past, some things we controlled and some we did not (cancer). Everyone has a story but the hope is that we are not trapped in the story of our past. Move forward and create new moments to add to your history. As Natasha Bedingfield sings, “staring at the blank page before you…..the rest is still unwritten”
Today I wear Mally lipgloss in Life’s a Beach, a soft caramel with a hint of gold. It’s a beautiful color anyone can wear. This particular gloss is from her ‘Life, Love and A Really Great Gloss’ lipgloss collection…HOW CLEVER, also, life’s a beach…who can argue with that name?
Anna's Lipstick Journey 
You are so right on the money here…your history is in fact how you got here, but it doesn’t have to be where you are going. Love it, Anna, every word. ♥
Thanks Jo! Thank you for the encouragement, this one was a stumper for me!
You are so right that we are who we are because of our history. We either learn from our mistakes or we repeat them. Great take on the topic.
Thanks Kat! I know many of us repeat past mistakes or past decisions…we need to remember and move on!
I love the song you referred to toward the end of your post, I can relate to it (as well most writers probably can). A friend of mine has a phrase she says to people often… “It’s easier to think about when you don’t know the history”… and I think that’s true. Living in the moment is my favorite, it allows me to brush the dandelions under my chin and both remember, and care not:-)
Living I the moment is my favorite too…thanks though for the lessons we learn from mistakes of our past
An interesting approach to the theme!
Very nice, I love that line- “the rest is still unwritten” so true.
Thank you Sylvie!
We’ve definitely all been shaped by our personal histories, and we need to remember than we too have a hand–the biggest one–in determining our futures.
Yes Beth, we all have history. Sometimes though we forget that other people are shaped by their history too so we shouldn’t judge them or their decisions until we understand them better.
We work hard to make our pasts but they are passed. We have to live our todays to the fullest. Tomorrow, well that’s what dreams are made of! WE have the power to make those dreams happen.
That Natasha Bedingfield line–WOW. It has been said many different was before but is soooooo true.
Yes Larry, we do get the chance to make choices daily that lead us onto different paths! Thanks for stopping by!
creating new moments is always fun. and now i will have to check out what this timeline is all about.
Let me know if you get the timeline working for you…it looks really cool!
I made my own history, I decided my kids would never have to go through the hell my mother put me through, and I wrote my pages with a different pen. I love that we create history and that our history, eventually, affects everybody else on the planet, maybe even in the universe. My ‘pet scientist’ *grin*, Prof. Brian Cox, recently did a programme in the BBC Christmas lectures (I think it was) which was about Quantum Physics. I am no scientist, I didn’t expect to understand, but I watched because he’s good at bringing science to a level I can understand. During the programme he said that everything we do touches everything else because atoms (or something) can’t stay in the same place, on the same level. So when we do anything every atom in the universe has to shift just slightly to keep this rule constant. So our history, which we write, affects the universe! (You can watch it here – http://engineering.curiouscatblog.net/2011/12/27/brian-cox-lecture-on-science-and-quantum-mechanics/) Sorry, I went on a bit, but your post really made me think :o)
I absolutely love that…atoms shifting..AWESOME!