You know what's a funny thing? The concept of a memory. In order for it to qualify as a memory it must be something from the past. Therefore, when you are in the moment, you don't necessarily think, "Oh, this will be a memory someday." Also, the circumstances determine whether or not your brain will remember the event, the moment in time, that elusive fraction of life.
Let's say you have a car crash. You might remember it vividly because you were the one driving, while your passenger may not remember it at all, possibly because they pass out. There is a certain trigger, if you will, that causes our brains to house the image of that moment in time. We seemingly cannot control it.
So then something terrible happens like an unexpected loss or even just loss of a loved one at all, and suddenly we are searching desperately through our minds of every single ounce of memory of that person we might have.
Too bad we couldn't think, "I want to remember this, because one day I will miss this person." And then somehow our hearts would message the mind that this is a special moment. It needs to be preserved. We don't want to forget the inner-most thoughts shared with this person, we don't want to forget how they smelled, the sound of their laughter, or that smile that lit up the world. Seemingly, we are left to the randomness of how our brains do store memories.
And then there is the problem of not only storing memories, but keeping them. Perhaps we have a great memory of our loved one stashed away tightly in our minds that we repeat over and over to comfort our hearts, but that memory will begin to fade eventually.
It seems that we are at the mercy of the unpredictability of life, ceaseless time and faulty wiring in our brains. But this is why we need each other.
Everyone remembers things through their respective glasses. Each person's memories will be splashed with the coloring that comes from their individual personalities. One memory might be tainted with sadness, while someone else had a great belly-laugh at that very same memory. No one person is the same as another person.
So what am I saying? Cherish every moment of life. Absorb each beautiful, breath-taking minute with your loved ones. Don't let a minute go by without holding them in your heart. And dear friend, when the time comes, as it does for everyone, for that person to depart from this world, we can have our memories. We can sort through photos, items of theirs and the beautiful memories that other people share.
Comments