Wednesday, November 4, 2009

a vague memory


what is your earliest memory?

what is the first thing that comes to mind as you read that question? is it a memory of happiness? of joy? or sorrow?

or is it less concrete than that? more a collection of vague nuances and happenstance.

does anyone else find it strange that most can't remember the first couple years of our lives? memories are strange indeed. fleeting at times and yet vivid at others.

do you trust your memories? or have they changed over time? growing more and more exaggerated.
have your precious memories become more precious? have your painful memories become more painful?

or have they grown more mundane?

...

I have sat with people as they've died. tragic and beautiful.

and in those last days and moments, memories come.

they remind of a life once passed. regret. success. ambition. ambivalence.

relationships.
experiences.
circumstances.
...

we each have memories. which ones have defined you? which ones are you creating now that will define who you will be? which have you passed on, knowing these memories die with you?

today, stop and remember.

cherish. relive. ache. and start again.

2 comments:

brad said...

Have you read Donald Millers new book A Million Miles in a Thousand years? The first couple of chapters is on memories ... very funny and true.

Tyson said...

oh, you mean the one I co-authored with him?

haven't read it yet - it awaits me in my 'to-be-read' pile, precariously on my desk.