Memory. It plays such a critical role in our lives, and in our religion, and in our family. In fact, it would be hard to imagine life at all without its memories.
Yet, like anything else, memories need moderation. We all probably know of someone (perhaps oneself, God forbid!) for whom memory played a bad role, causing that person to live in the past, and forget that the present and future still exist, still hold promise, still need to be made into a memory. That kind of memory is a tomb.
But there are other ways of remembering. We can remember for gratitude, for the lesson the past can teach, for the part of us we need to treasure and hold on to. The secret is being able to think about the past without staying in the past. For each, it is a matter of sorting out, letting go, moving forward or simply moving on. Only the individual can find a way to keep memory a companion and not a task master. And then, truly, memory becomes enriching and rewarding. For it keeps us always in the company with those we never want to lose.
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