So, somewhere around 10pm tonight, I had this undeniable urge to go riffling through old photos. I don't know if my subconscious was looking for something, or someone, but needless to say, I came across some things I had long forgotten, and others that had been happily left in the past.
It's funny how the tragedies of today do not seem so tragic tomorrow. How the important of today is insignificant tomorrow. How those you thought you would have in your life forever, mean nothing to you tomorrow. Or mean the world to you, and you mean nothing to them.
My old neighbor told me something that I live by...simple words, but they touched me so deeply that I keep them in the forefront of my mind. When things come and go, when people come and go (and sometimes come again), I remind myself of these brilliant, yet simple words: People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
Being reminded of that tonight as I riffled through old pictures, forgotten memories left in a box to be found on a day like today, I came across familiar faces - people long since forgotten in the hustle and bustle of today. I miss the companionship of some, am glad for the lack of companionship of others, and wonder what happened to many of those people that fill the background of the photos - people not important enough to me at that moment to be in the foreground of the image.
Many of these people have found their way back into my worlds, or maybe it is that I've found my way back into theirs. The invention of Myspace and other such means has allowed people to stay in touch in a whole new way - and assists in answering many of those "what the hell happened to _______" questions.
So, as I put away the box of pictures of my life thus far, I'm reminded of where I came from and where I'm going - what life was like when I was five years younger, what I looked like 30lbs ago, what I was thinking when I took this picture, and how far more jaded I am today. I'm blessed for those that were reasons, and in a way am glad they are gone. I'm also blessed for those that were seasons, as well as those that will be seasons....while those are harder to move on from, they offered me the support, love, and/or strive (good and bad) to make myself a better person. And I'm very blessed for those willing and allowed to be a part of my lifetime.
I look at these faces long since forgotten, and I wonder what some of them are - are they the reason, and I'll never see them again? Are they the season, and I'll cross their paths somewhere along the roads of life again? Or will they become the lifetime?
