On a recent flight across the Pacific pond, I heard a fellow crew member reference how great things used to be. In fact, if you listen, you’ll hear many people talking about how much better life was in the past. They fixate on some period of time “back in the day,” and then conjure up a few warm, cozy, and comforting feelings. They romanticize what happened, and inevitably proclaim, “those were the good old days.” When someone says this, you can almost see their fantasy of the past. All their trials overcome and hardships forgotten, only the sweet, sweet memory of happy times remaining.
There are, of course, happy and sad times in life and I too love to reminisce with friends about them. But when we truly believe our happy times are behind us, we cease living. My theory is, whether we like it or not, every day is the good old days. Sure, there are times of my life I can look back on with sincere happiness, when troubles seemed miles away. But I’m not that person anymore, I’m an adult, and a trouble-free life doesn’t equate to happiness anymore. A life lived fully is what creates the good old days every day.
To prove my theory, I looked through many years of photographs (courtesy of Casey Allen’s tireless effort and diligence in more than a decade of photography,) to see just how many “good old days,” there are in my past. As you can see, there have been good old days all along the way, even if it was just for the day.
The most important thing to realize as you look through these images is that there are more “good old days” in the future than in the past.
I hope you reflect as I did on just how wonderful life can be, even with the challenges that spring up along the way.
Don’t forget that today, right now, is your life. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Remember to live your life today, and never tomorrow. After all, today is the good old days.
