This Summer I took my six year old daughter and my mum to go see Inside Out, a delightful movie about a young girl moving cities and in the process growing up.
I balled my eyes out. Sitting next to my mum, myself a grown up child, next to my daughter who is growing up right before me. Even writing these words I struggle to hold in tears.
Why did Pixar touch a nerve so deep inside my soul? Forgotten memories.
I'm 30 years old and I can only recall vividly a few events over that time. It's been 13 years since my dad passed away and, while I still remember him, I'm losing memories day by day. 6 years ago my daughter was born and I can hardly remember Christmas two years ago. My son is 3 and I'm already forgetting his early years.
Memories have become the most valuable possession I have, but society, school, and success have all reinforced how worthless they are in comparison to the rewards of knowledge, the prestige of position, and the allure of possessions.
For the rest of my life I'm seeking to unlearn what I've been taught and do two things: anticipate and reflect.
By visualizing experiences before and after you've experienced them you are much more likely to recall them at a later date.
Some nights when I'm snuggling my son or daughter, I imagine that I'm actually me of 30 years from now, transported back in time to that moment. I try to imagine how I'd feel if I had that opportunity. I would soak in every moment! The smell of their hair, the touch of their skin, the sound of their voice. I would savour every moment of that time travel until I'm lurched back into 'present day'.
What a gift we have in memories. What a curse it is to lose them.
I balled my eyes out. Sitting next to my mum, myself a grown up child, next to my daughter who is growing up right before me. Even writing these words I struggle to hold in tears.
Why did Pixar touch a nerve so deep inside my soul? Forgotten memories.
I'm 30 years old and I can only recall vividly a few events over that time. It's been 13 years since my dad passed away and, while I still remember him, I'm losing memories day by day. 6 years ago my daughter was born and I can hardly remember Christmas two years ago. My son is 3 and I'm already forgetting his early years.
Memories have become the most valuable possession I have, but society, school, and success have all reinforced how worthless they are in comparison to the rewards of knowledge, the prestige of position, and the allure of possessions.
For the rest of my life I'm seeking to unlearn what I've been taught and do two things: anticipate and reflect.
By visualizing experiences before and after you've experienced them you are much more likely to recall them at a later date.
Some nights when I'm snuggling my son or daughter, I imagine that I'm actually me of 30 years from now, transported back in time to that moment. I try to imagine how I'd feel if I had that opportunity. I would soak in every moment! The smell of their hair, the touch of their skin, the sound of their voice. I would savour every moment of that time travel until I'm lurched back into 'present day'.
What a gift we have in memories. What a curse it is to lose them.
RSS Feed