Sometimes, while leaned back, and contemplative, it’s good to think about what was and how it influences what’s to be. But, other times, it’s good to see work you’ve done, assess it, learn from it, and then… move forward with it.

Such is the case with today’s post. A little reflecting, a little musing, and a little moving forward.

Reflections of Reflections

When working on love, in love, it’s easy to stop thinking about the ravages of time. Things get lost in the relentless march of time. Some of these memories, had they been fresh, would keep one’s eyes a bit more open to possibilities, going forward.

Thinking about the great days of yesteryears and dates gone by, when things felt warm and easy. However, currently too busy thinking about the problems of today and how dark they make tomorrow.

We are a mere reflection of ourselves. We’ve changed. We’ve improved. Or so we tell ourselves. But have we really? This busy rat race of making ends meet, is it the future we had planned back then?

For some, they’ve arrived to where they’ve planned, now, they’re just stuck in the present, unsure what the future will bring. For the image is a bit out of focus, the comfort of now, blocking out the drive of the past, is setting up for a barely adequate future.

It’s all about now, these days. But the images are being course corrected by the ever changing ideals of social media. We’ve got to look perfect, as if PhotoShopped, at all times. If not, we can’t share our thoughts, less we be judged.

How many relationship have suffered at the cruel hands of comparisons made on the internet of lives that’s been highly curated, not reflecting reality, but influencing our judgment of our perceived current reality.

Much like the fancy wiz-bang shiny objects of the past have faded into oblivion, many of past hardship have faded from clear recollection. Instead, we’ve got to build new positive experiences, to fuel ourselves towards a better tomorrow.

Innovation is the key to prevent stagnation. Growth is the only way to cheat death… well… push it off anyway. We’ve got to keep moving and adjusting.

Sure, the image of the past no longer is hosted by the machinery of the past, it’s the present, where we compete with ourselves, to have our best love life carry on forever. Comparing our relationship to others is the ideal way to despair about who we are. We only compete with the version of ourselves we left in the past… the benchmark that determines how well we’re doing now. If we have grown closer together, build up better communication skills, love one another more, we’re winning.

When reflecting, the means by which we live change, but it doesn’t have to define us. We shape our experiences. We define our meanings. And when we work together, we not only win, but we do create that glossy beautiful life that we own as our own.

There are a myriad of perspectives to hold for love. The key is to be true to yours, and adjust it to the times in which you live. For the machinery of today will soon fade to give way to something more tomorrow… hopefully, all the more beautiful.

Inspiration for the reflection

The image was once done for another site that is no more. It was a lot of fun creating it. Couldn’t go back to the past to get the image. Thankfully, the hosting website was not the foundation for the memory of this photo. There was a copy that was kept current and fresh throughout all the transformation of digital storage.

Today, it lives on this blog in all of it’s former glory and may be witnessed by more eyes than it has ever had. All because the core, the original, kept up with the times.

Romance will go through many transitions. The perspective of love may even be challenged. However, as long as one keeps the right focus on their love, romance can thrive in all kinds of circumstances. While the image below currently lives on social media instead of someone else’s website… it’s found it’s home on it’s own website.

This post is written to encourage someone to keep working on the experiences that makes their relationship strong. No need to check out other relationships on social media… they won’t be there for you when the going gets tough. Don’t let your shine fade because you’ve lost sight of your own shine. (don’t drink the Kool-Aide either and stop working on staying great)

Below… for your reading pleasure… is the image and caption that went with it… that inspired these words to just flow.

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A little photoshop action from a photo done years ago for a site that no longer exists