Joel Panzer shares about how memories fade and why we should cherish them.
How many times have you said or heard others say…” I’ll never forget” a simple phrase that says this was something important or memorable that meant a lot to me or just changed my life. We’ve said them all our lives about things we’ve done or things we have seen or heard others do. “I’ll never forget where I was when I saw men walk on the moon.” “I’ll never forget where I was when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.” I will never forget… Things, events that leave an indelible mark on our lives, and for the most part they are the events that have shaped or changed us for better or worse.
Now as I am old, on the shady side of life, I realize the futility of these words, because as we age, as our grip on this life begins to slip ever so slowly away I realize not every memorable event, not every life experience was mine to remember forever.
I have always looked at life and memories as a jig saw puzzle. We put it together as we grow and though most of us don’t get to recall all the pieces, if we are fortunate, we do get to see or remember much of the picture before we die. The gift of forgetting should also not be overlooked or undervalued. Parts of life’s major losses, disappointments must also fade away for our peace and sanity. It’s interesting.
Nature is a cruel thief. It takes the memories of what you held the dearest and scatters them…beyond your reach. As time goes by, you can only recollect small fragments of what you once swore “You’d Never forget.” To me, memories are like life itself, loaned to us for a little while…they are not as permanent as we would like to think and while we always endeavor to hold onto them as we move through this time and space “I will never forget” isn’t always up to us. With a Perspective, I’m Joel Panzer.