What’s in Your 2018 Time Capsule?
What’s in Your 2018 Time Capsule?
Out with the old, in with the new, right? Hmm. I suspect we don’t want to forget everything from this past year. Every experience shapes us, whether it’s positive or negative, and reflecting on each experience is important for us to learn, grow, and move on. You know that old saying, “don’t look back, you’re not going that way”, well it’s definitely a good one. But there’s no doubt so much to be grateful for, and if we can’t look back to appreciate things and honor things we’ve been through, then how can we be grateful for what we have right now? So often we feel the need to just wipe the slate clean, to get a fresh start and begin anew. Don’t get me wrong, this is so necessary, but we have to be able to reflect, without any judgement, on the things that have shaped us into who we are today.
So, what do we do with all these memories, experiences, things that remind us of what we’ve been through? Time capsule, anyone? Maybe all those historians had it right, trying to preserve a piece of the present for the future. Imagine 5-10 years from now opening up your own personal time capsule and finding things that meant so much to you, that were so pivotal to your life experiences in 2018.
Maybe you associated time capsules with history class, or archeology, or something unrelated directly to your life. But why not reframe that. Why not let yourself be your own little historian and create a time capsule for yourself as the future historian of your life!
There is no significant period of time to do a time capsule. Whatever timeframe you choose, make it meaningful for you. Perhaps it’s 5 years, or 10 years, choose something that you feel comfortable with. And as for what you put into your time capsule, it’s up to you. Small items, big items, whatever has brought meaning into your life in the last year.
EndorphinGirl® and the fam have done it twice over the past 20 years. The first time was in 1999 when the EndorphinKids® were under 5 and on an ‘overseas’ assignment with their parents. They created their time capsule right before leaving their home in Moscow, Russia, and waited until 2009,10 years later, before opening their time capsules. What amazing treasures they found as young adolescents, ~ 10 1/2 and 14 years of age. They have not opened the time capsules since, although another 10 years have passed and 2019 will bring another look inside, filling the EndorphinFam with even more good memories of the past.
They have a second, and much smaller, time capsule from 2003 when they finished another overseas assignment with EndorphinGirl® Mom, who also has a time capsule from this time. The capsules from that time period were opened in 2013 and will be re-opened in 2023.
Each time the EnorphinFam has opened their capsules, they’ve been filled with wonderful memories of all the experiences they’ve shared together. They look back, appreciating what they’ve been through, and think about how what they’ve experienced has brought them to the place they’re in now.
Did you ever want to capture a moment in time? Capture meaningful experiences, and save them for a future date?
Well, maybe this is the year to do so. To put together some timeless treasures, so that you can look back years later and reflect.
Written by: Barbara Kataisto and Mia Kataisto