Looking Forward
Thanks for the memories
“Life must be lived forward, but can only be understood backward.” – Soren Kierkegaard
There were a couple of posts that I found interesting. The first was this post by Thomas, entitled: Life needs to get simpler. In it, he talks about revamping his blog and, basically, casting aside all of his previous content and starting anew, or as he stated, tabula rasa, which means blank slate. I had to look that up! 
Anyway, it was a bold move on his part and, I’m sure, somewhat liberating.
The second post, along those same lines, was when Paul Butzi was musing about what to do with his old, static website content. In his post he talked about feeling no obligation to keep old, outdated stuff alive or maintained.
I’ve thought about this many times, too. As I approach completing the 4 year mark on my blog, there is lots of old content hanging around. Sometimes I think of just purging the database of everything older than say, one year, as no one probably even looks at it.
I will, on occasion, look back at it, read, and think about the things that I’ve said and what my thought processes were at that time. Sometimes I’m amazed at how I thought, other times amused, yet other times, flabbergasted. So, in that respect, it is useful to see, if for no other reason than to understand that there is constant change in life and all things pass. I think that’s why I like the plug-in that finds similar posts. I’ve changed it to only look at the past 12 months though, finding that older posts just don’t seem relevant anymore.
The photo that accompanies this text reminded me of that. I photographed it on Tuesday developed it Wednesday night. I pass this, now defunct, Checkers once a week, on my way back from Charlotte. It has always caught by attention, but I didn’t know why. Finally, after months and months of noticing it, I finally when to photograph it – the reason still unclear.
I’m pretty sure that when the person opened it, they had high hopes and probably no thoughts that it would ever close, yet, here it is, closed and abandoned. The only thing remaining is the shell of the building, some empty tables, and a sign thanking anyone who is willing to look.
Things change constantly. Life must be lived forward …
I wouldn’t say that nobody looks at your old content! Actually, I just did it a couple of days ago. To be honest, more with a focus on your photos – and I found it really interesting on how your photos changed over time.
Also, you have written tons more than I ever did. So it would certainly be a much bigger decision to throw it all away. I don’t think I would ever dream of it, if I were in your shoes. Your site is a blog in a very positive sense: a diary of events and a collection of personal thoughts. Keep it, and keep it coming!
BTW, I’m going to put at least my “keepers” into my Smugmug gallery.
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My interest in my old pictures and posts is based on the development aspect – my images and my approach to photography have changed a lot over the years, and at least for me it is interesting to look back and see the differences.
No, at least now, I would not take this step. On the other hand, it is much more important (again for me) to be able to go on, to make pictures, to create. As long as I can do this, the old images have their importance, but definitely minor to the ones yet to be taken.
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I don’t spend much time thinking about what I have done just what I am doing or going to do. Past is only important to me as a path for where I am now and not all that relevant to where I am going. Every moment is a place to begin a new past.
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I don’t believe my old work is important from an information or knowledge perspective, but as Markus stated it’s important in that it marks a path and development. Heck, when I started Meandering Passage four years ago it was a technical/computer centric blog and now it’s mostly photography. Wisdom perhaps would of advised me to start over a number of times–but who am I to start listening to wisdom now?
I think I’d hate to loose the comments more then the post. Perhaps I see this blog like my life–no do-overs, it’s one long journey.
I do like your idea of setting the related post plugin to the last 12 months–I might borrow that concept from you.
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I’m with Earl about the possibility of abandoning my posts, but not wanting to lose the comments. Still, the comments without context might be strange. Besides, I like the diary/journal aspect. Maybe I will see this differently by the time I have been blogging four or five years.
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Paul, clutter comes in many forms. Web clutter, physical clutter, head clutter. It weighs us down. I think a lot of people are pushing for simpler lives these days.
Nice column – lots to think about.
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Well, having being away from the Internet for almost two months, I must say most still look the same. After a year, what do I know, your posts might be too old to be relevant. But, I’m not so sure about this. When I look back on my first posts, in 2003, they feel not completely outdated. I’m still on the same page as I were then. The only difference is what I did and how I lived. Nevertheless, old posts doesn’t make much noise, and I don’t bother having them stored forever.
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While I’ve been using the Internet for well over a decade I haven’t had a presence on it until the last few years and have not been as prolific as the people I follow including yourself. The thing about the Internet assuming it exists in one form or another for as long as humanity does, is that it is a culmination of humanity’s thoughts and ideals for better or for worse, a bit like a giant time capsule but never buried in the ground. But I suspect that in generations to come people will stumble across the writings, the photos, the comments etc we leave behind today and they may get the same enjoyment I get when I stumble across a dusty old book in a second-hand bookstore about something that may be no longer relevant but allows me an insight into another’s memory. As Ove says, “old posts don’t make much noise” and we have no idea what they will be whispering to the generations that follow.
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