Living in the moment is a popular mantra to adopt these days. ‘Be present’ or ‘make each moment count’ rings loudly from all corners of society. All the way down to the cute motivational cards stuck on the mirror to see each morning, reminding us to ‘seize the day’.

But it’s dawned on me recently that we must balance reflection and preparation. Holding them in tandem. To deconstruct.

In order to dream.

I’d been bouncing from day to day. Wrapped up in schedules and juggling modern living. Surviving. Not unhappily, no. But it was functional and if I’m honest, a little frantic.

Except to truly be thriving in life one needs to be building towards a dream. To have a goal. Feeling motivated to change. Pursuing with passion the things of the heart.

Time to reflect

On a recent trip to the land of my childhood I recognised the importance of reflecting on our memories. How, when faced with smells and tastes, accents and places of my younger years, this made me feel validated in an unexplainable way. Something I’d not had for years. I didn’t know that’s what I needed. That part of me was missing. The acknowledgement of who I remembered I was and where I knew I’d come from. Being able to share my history with those I love brought healing in a way I didn’t know I needed.

It turns out I had to go back in order to move forward.

Being able to share with my own children the things buried deep in my heart, then to see those things come to life again, meant I wasn’t a little bit cuckoo or irrationally longing for something that didn’t exist. The tint from my childhood glasses hadn’t faded, here was the evidence.

These moments of real time reminiscence held such power as I realised that this really was a land where I belonged. They are my people. And although I’d not set foot in this country for 23 years I was home again.

It turns out I had to go back in order to move forward.

The journey doesn’t end there though.

As I looked back on a life I’d been told was rose tinted or been dismissed as something I needed to ‘get over’, I realised something deeper was happening in me.

In the process of reflection I was able to appreciate all that I have. All that I’ve built and all I know, in the here and now. All that I’ve become.

I’m so grateful for where I am. There are days when life isn’t all peachy of course! But it is good.

Appreciating the past, or at the core accepting it, is the best way to move on.

Positioning ourselves to embrace what lies ahead with a peace for what lies behind.

Take the time

As I’ve looked back, I’ve found a renewed hope to move forward. Where the stagnation had hit hard there’s been reinvigoration. Where fear had crept in attempting to suffocate the dreams there’s a flicker. They are now being fanned into flame again.

Do they look the same as they once did? Probably not.

But there’s been an awakening to a future I’d been scared to face. Fires burn differently when they’re managed in new ways.

So, whilst it’s all well and good to be in the moment and take each day as it comes, I’d encourage some time of reflection in order to make your next steps. As I’ve wrote recently ‘hope deferred makes the heart sick’. Don’t let the confusion, pain or misunderstanding of the past rob you of being able to walk into the beautiful future that awaits.

Spend time to reflect. Face those memories head on. Take a trip down the lane of lost yesterdays. Plan for the promised hope of a beautiful future. Stop staying still. Take time to look back to go forward!

Your Turn

Maybe you could try sitting with your photo app open instead of the social media one? Stop the comparison and start the reflection. Look at your photos from the last year and enjoy those memories.

Have a flick back through your old journals and see how far you’ve come. Send up thankful prayers for all those times you’ve seen God come through for you, your family and your friends.

Buy yourself some flowers, those ones that remind you of visiting Granny’s garden when you were younger. Find your heart swelling with gratitude for those memories.

Memories can often come with paradoxical emotions. But that’s not a reason to hide from them. There’s healing when we embrace them. Time to start reflecting if you’re ready to move ahead. Are you ready to look back to go forward?

Take a trip down the lane of lost yesterdays.