November 10, 2007

• Faded Memories

  

  I was looking at old pictures today and came across this one of my twin and me at the beach in Florida back in 1976. Wow, that was a long time ago. It got me to thinking about the nature of memories and how much we often forget. Memories, like pictures, often fade with time and age. The things we promise never to forget, get lost amist all of the new things that we have to remember and assimilate. Often, unless there is a really strong trigger, we don't pull it up those old memories.

  Take this trip for instance. I know we went for about a week. I remember two things. First, we went to Disneyland and rode on Space Mountain. We screamed the first part of it and then went quiet. My dad was in another seat with my younger sister. He thought maybe we had fallen out! Second, while playing in the water, my sister found a turtle egg. That's about it. I don't even remember posing for this picture.

  Isn't it interesting the things we do remember? Often times they are the traumatic things like falling down a flight of stairs when I was about two and a half or three. Or it's the grudges. We remember all the wrongs that people did to us. I remember in the 6th grade this boy, Chris, taunting my sister and me as "Clone Women." He was probably accurate to a degree given that we are twins, but it wasn't very nice. I also didn't know what a clone was. I thought he was talking about something in a science fiction movie I had seen.

  It's just interesting how the bad things often take precedence over the good things. I suppose it says a lot about what we focus on as a culture. The more horrible the more we fixate on it. What would happen if I chose everyday to focus on a positive memory or thought? What if you did too? How long would it take to change our pessimistic national psyche?

  My prayer that God helps me let the negative memories fade and replaces them with positive ones.

  • 7:15 pm
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