The trip down memory lane isn't always a good place to land.

It often is our tendency to revisit events of the past. This is especially true when we have idle time on our hands, or maybe when the weather causes us to be indoors a bit more. Sometimes we bring the outdoor atmosphere indoors to our thoughts. I wonder if this inclination tends to be more detrimental than beneficial? Once in a while, I enjoy a good delving into the past, but sometimes wading in the back-waters, so to speak, may not always be healthy.

I am one to allow my mind to wander and take a trip down memory lane. Sometimes this happens due to an encounter with a person, looking through old pictures, or stumbling upon a view that triggers a memory. It amazes me how our minds can go back to some long-forgotten place. This unanticipated exercise can be rather fun, but if a conjured up memory brings sadness, is the deliberate intention to look back really worth it?

I enjoy familial history and love learning about my family. I want to know where they came from, where they went and all the stories in between. So discussing the past with family members can be very informative and rewarding. If nothing else, it certainly is a way of keeping family folklore alive and active. It is times like this that makes the recall very fun. But when the past reminds us of a time that we wish we could revisit, perhaps it's not the healthiest place to land.

A personal example of a revisit to the past might be pondering when my kids were younger and life was maybe not simpler, but more contained. I have a bountiful bouquet of wonderful memories of times spent together. I can look back to beach parties and vacations with gratitude or sadness because there's always some degree of longing to return. I'm very grateful for the many opportunities we had as a family, so my footing should always be with a grateful heart. Instead, sometimes a longing spirit creeps in for a revisit into the past, and my mind wanders and wonders a bit.

I’m beginning to think that lurking into the subtle backdrop of memories might trigger things that are no longer important and should have little relevance in the present. We can’t change our history, and I’m not suggesting we only remember good times. But, if we had a healthy dose of remembering the past but couple the memories with looking to the future with great expectation, our minds would stay more focused on a brighter present.

We should look towards the future with positive energy, so the weight of the past doesn’t bring us to a dark place of disappointment.

I think revisiting the past is fun and even enriching, but maybe one needs to focus on the wonderful things that life offered while denying credence to the events that brought sadness and regret.

I guess I can sum it up like this: if the trip down memory lane zaps your joy, then it's not a good place to go.