When I first read these words several years ago they came as an epiphany, striking me as insightful and relevant. Whatever I see and think is coloured by the things that have shaped my life up until that point and it is through those eyes and that mindset that I evaluate everything. In short, the shape of my present experience is fashioned by my past. And my past fashions the person I am today and the person I am becoming. To a greater or lesser extent this shaping can be manipulated e.g. by counselling but so much of what happens to me alters the blueprint of the person I am and the way in which I view things, everything. I also realise that the present shapes the way I see and describe my past.
I’ve thought much about Anaïs Nin’s words over the years and they seem only more relevant as time passes. I am interested to know what others think and whether this is something they have ever contemplated.

Topics: life, present, psychology, insight, experience, past, epiphany, psyche, life experience, mindset, Anas Nin