My dad loved popcorn. He would make it on the stovetop, douse it with melted butter and dump it into a giant metal bowl. Whenever he pulled that bowl from the cupboard, I knew what he was up to. After he passed away, I asked my stepmother for the bowl. She pulled it from the back of a cabinet and said, “I almost threw that old thing away.” I took the bowl, which was much smaller than I remembered, and turned it over in my hands. It was misshapen, tarnished, and dented. It was perfect.
Obviously, she didn’t know there was magic in that old bowl.
For it didn’t just hold popcorn. It held much more than that. It held memories of a time when my days consisted of climbing a large cherry tree in our front yard and eating so many cherries that my stomach ached. Of escaping the neighbor’s dog after shimmying over the fence to get a stray ball. Or, of laying on the lawn tying clover chains together for hours upon end.
As I held the dented bowl with its lackluster finish, another memory flooded back. This one of me sitting with my father on our tired brown couch watching a football game in black and white, the silver popcorn bowl between us. Everything seemed so simple then.
With the stresses of today and the unknowns of tomorrow, it’s sometimes easier to reflect on the “good old days” rather than to think about what lies ahead of us. Our minds are naturally drawn to the familiar versus the unfamiliar. We would rather remember the good feelings of the past than face a future that may seem bleak in the light of social unrest, pandemics, and politicians who behave badly, to say the least.
However, I am reminded of an old Billy Joel song that goes: “the good ole days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems”.
So, while it’s true that it’s easy to remember the “good old days” as if everything was good, it is more likely that our memories are glorified. We have cast them in a light that skews them as more favorable than they might have been. And, there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. However, we are also guilty of casting the future in an opposite light. We make it bleaker than it really is, especially when we compare it against our glorified past.
Obviously, we have important issues in our society that need to be addressed and I’m not suggesting we stick our heads in the sand. I am suggesting, however, that things aren’t all good or all bad. And, that black and white thinking can cloud our ability to view things objectively.
My dad was a pretty easy-going guy. He was kind and patient. He used to say, “Nothing is ever as bad as it seems.” He believed that you could weather most storms if you could keep a level head and a positive mental attitude. Looking back, I am thankful for his practical wisdom. It helps me to keep things in perspective and know that brighter days are always ahead.
Great message!