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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Re-member Yourself

Memories are stories of the past which package meaning. To remember is to re-member your past. To forget is to dis-member your past. To ignore your past is to dis-member it.

You should treat your past with some respect. You should re-member it in story, in storytelling, in art, in writing, in photos (actually going and looking at them), in creation and recreation of the past.

Re-membering is not merely an act of sentiment, it is part of present identity building and faith building.

I am everythig I was. Madeleine l'engle and Ann Lamott have both recently made the stunning claims that we are not merely the age we claim to be today, but we are every age we ahve even been. Right now I am 37, but I am also 17 and and ready to go to college, 13 and attracted to (but afraid of) girls, I am 36 grieving at my father's casket. I am currently every age i am have ever been.

So are you.

To live only in the small slice of you that is contained in the present is to miss out on nearly everything you are.

Re-member your faith. Re-member your family. Re-member yourself.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well, I certainly can related to that but maybe a bit more complicated! :) LW
Sorry to post annonymously. I used to have a blogger ID but only the walls might re-member it!