A few months ago, I called up my childhood friend and inquired about his mother who had recently lost her husband, friend and soul mate of many many years. He died after battling Parkinson’s disease for more than 12 years. My friend said that his mother was missing him a lot. He continued to say that for everything little thing that his mother does now, she draws upon her memory to relive, mentally, how she experienced the same thing with her husband. I lost my father 23 years ago and I myself see such behavior with my mother. With her eyes either dull or illumined, my mother would replay sad or cherished memories in great detail, experiencing the past in the present.
These observations have made me realize how strongly memories connect us all. More specifically, its the memory of our experiences that creates the bond between our current moment and everything that transpired before. The same memory of our experiences also shapes what is to unfold in our view of the future. It seems that our experiences have the energy to enliven us up or drain us.
Experiences seem to be permanent; more permanent than any object. It is said that we do not take anything with us when we die. Sure, we don’t pack up our stuff and leave this life. But I do think that we pack our experience and take them with us. In that sense, experiences have a longer “shelf life”, especially if you subscribe to the idea of rebirth. When one is born “again”, his past experiences set a baseline for a new set of experiences set to unfold before him.
How are we choosing to experience this point in the continuum called Life?
My Journey Of Gratitude 