Memories

I awoke this morning thinking, generally, about memory; that mental faculty of present consciousness of the past.

(As one who has had the anguished experience of aged loved ones losing memory to the ravages of dementia, as I age, the power of recollection increases in personal importance.)

More specifically, I thought about memories and, most specifically, about how we humans recall our relational pasts…

Numerous times, I’ve had the experience of encountering and engaging in conversation with former acquaintances who, in some recollected instances, had a similar – and, in other instances, a quite different – view of a past shared moment. (And, in some cases, one of us harbored a memory that the other could not recall.)

And, in their memories of me, sometimes, I appeared better than I know myself to be and, sometimes, not so much better. In the former case, I appreciated their charity; and, in the latter, their honesty.

And, in the surest, strictest fairness, the same was true of my reminiscences (some good, some not so good) of them.

All of this leads me to ponder, to wonder about the presence and power of memory. In this, as in most (all!) things, I can speak only for myself. Two realizations occur (or, perhaps, reoccur, for, surely, this has crossed my mind previously; although, ironically, I cannot recall!):

1. Whatever it is I remember, that is what matters to me.
2. As it, whatever “it” is, matters to me, then it (as in the case of dreams) reveals to me something about me that is worth my pursuing, worth my knowing.

© 2022 PRA

#memories #recollections #reminiscences #relationships