Personal Growth Planet Blog

In last week’s blog post, I described what a double exposed moment or life is like and I laid out some of the potential hazards of this (usually) unconscious reaction.

Those double exposed moments are when the past and present fuse together in a weird and sometimes painful amalgam in the mind.

They literally alter a person’s experiences. The reactions that come from this confusing fusion can be anger or defensiveness that doesn’t seem to fit the situation or could involve an emotional withdrawal or shutting down.

The effects to a person’s relationships and ability to attain goals can be negative.

Have you ever had a double exposed moment? Perhaps it feels like you’re living a double exposed life!

“Double exposure” is a technique used by some photographers. The result is the superimposing of two images on top of– or to the side of– one another. It is usually done intentionally to gain a particular effect. Pretty cool art!

There are far too many times in my own life when I feel as if I am having a double exposed* moment. It is as if I am speaking and reacting to some person or situation from the past and NOT speaking and responding to what’s going on right here and now.

Person #1: Would you like to meet me for dinner tonight?

Person #2: Sorry, I can’t.

Person #1: Oh, okay. I understand. (Thinking to self: She and I aren’t as close anymore. She’s probably just making up an excuse because she doesn’t want to hang out with me.)

A lot can happen in a very short conversation such as this. That is to say, a lot of inaccuracies and incorrect assumptions can occur and have very real effects on people’s relationships and lives.

Peace means something different to us all.

It might mean a quiet morning with a cup of tea, a good book and nothing else but the sounds of birds singing and the rustling of wind in the trees.

Instead, peace might be the adrenaline rush that comes with biking on a mountain path, sweat dripping, heart and other muscles pumping and the wind in your face.

Peace may just be the absence of bickering, fighting or angst. It could be the realization that the kids, you and your partner or others in your home, community and world have ceased their usual wars for awhile.

You can ask my kids– I really don’t like clutter. I get all squirrely and irritable when the piles of books, papers, electronics, toys or whatever get too high and are spread too widely throughout the house.

I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s not just their stuff that adds to the feeling I get of being stuffed in to a space with too many things out and about.

When I reach my clutter breaking point, I generally huff around a bit barking out calls for tidiness and picking up after ourselves.

Have you ever wished that you could take a particularly painful memory from your past and simply erase it?

I have a few (or more) memories that, at times, I would love to be rid of. These are the images, feelings and beliefs related to events in my past that crop up and seem to ruin my whole day, week, month or even years.

Recently, I watched the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” It tells the story of a man and woman who met, fell in love, argued, made love, argued some more and then broke up.

By Amy Phillips-Gary

I’ve been knee-deep in celebrations lately. My two sons’ birthdays fall within 8 days of one another in November. This means a lot of parties, cake, presents and fun this time of year in my family.

It also usually means a lot of dredging up the past for me.

As we mark their birthdays, I have this habit of recalling my perceived mistakes around each of their births and early years– as well as my many missteps as a mom over my sons’ past 15 and 11 years, respectively.