“He was still too young to know that the heart's memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera.
― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera.
Yet, we choose our memories, and at times keep them alive. What is our life - if not a composite of glimpses of our lives, some collected consciously and some caught in the snares of our life. Some of laughter, some tears, some just snapshots of faces, and some of views, some touches of breeze blowing your hair. Some glorious sunsets, some exasperating moments dealing with tantrums of kids, lots of hugs, nervous jitters , sleepless nights and some electrifying conversations with friends.
For someone who is not in the least nostalgic, I do have my share of "Remember when this happened.." moments. While some memories come alive in company of friends, narrating a shared experience, some just sneak on you when you are alone, keeping you company. For some odd reason, the collage of events stored are not the most eventful one. I am not even sure how I can relive the warmth of sun on my skin on a particular day, years ago, or even the aroma of fresh baked bread feel more real than the birth of my kids. It is incomprehensible but true. Actually when I think back, memories of my childhood and youth are more tangible than the later years. Maybe because it is the bygone era of innocence and simple joy or maybe because that it was something that reminds me of where and who I am. I don't have much recolletion of the supposedly big events in life. It is as if only the trivia of my life has been stored by my malfunctioning brain. Or is it my coping mechanism?Maybe the simplicity of childhood and part of youth bring to the table something that is lost.
In the end we are only what we remember and how we remember it. And when we are no more, maybe we will live a little longer in the memories of others, hopefully bringing a smile on their lips when they think about us.
For someone who is not in the least nostalgic, I do have my share of "Remember when this happened.." moments. While some memories come alive in company of friends, narrating a shared experience, some just sneak on you when you are alone, keeping you company. For some odd reason, the collage of events stored are not the most eventful one. I am not even sure how I can relive the warmth of sun on my skin on a particular day, years ago, or even the aroma of fresh baked bread feel more real than the birth of my kids. It is incomprehensible but true. Actually when I think back, memories of my childhood and youth are more tangible than the later years. Maybe because it is the bygone era of innocence and simple joy or maybe because that it was something that reminds me of where and who I am. I don't have much recolletion of the supposedly big events in life. It is as if only the trivia of my life has been stored by my malfunctioning brain. Or is it my coping mechanism?Maybe the simplicity of childhood and part of youth bring to the table something that is lost.
In the end we are only what we remember and how we remember it. And when we are no more, maybe we will live a little longer in the memories of others, hopefully bringing a smile on their lips when they think about us.
