Memory

In general, to live without memory is to live without meaning. Semantic memory, for example, grapples with simply recalling the name of an object. To forget in every fleeting moment is not to live at all.

Memory also seems to have varying degrees of penetration. In reference to the Lacanian theory, every child’s segway from the Imaginary Order to the Symbolic Order necessitates language as a pivotal development into society. Language facilitates communication, which actually yields individual characterization. In perspective, linguistic memory, specifically, is nearly second nature to us. Whereas children we were occupied with addressing objects with meaning, the next fold of memories gradually increased over time when meaning gave birth to life, and life as it were was remembered.

What delegated power to our memories? To begin, I believe that a memory is most deeply impressed when all senses are engaged in providing the most informative account of how the self has interacted with the world. The mind, body, and soul are static with time. Power is delegated to memory when the memory is realized. As time initiates the transformation of life, so too does it evolve the transformative power of memories. Meanwhile, nostalgia is powerless. Nostalgia occurs when the present state of loss urges the retrieval of memory to fulfill it; the body is in a state of conflict between the past and present. The function of memory moves with time, as the more time that has elapsed since the event of the memory, the better the memory is put into perspective.

As natural as memories resurface in our mind, a second look at memories will often enlighten us. That is where humans draw their transformative power – from the wells of their deepest engagement with life that ring truth. Memory can be seen as the nutrients of the soil that are absorbed over time in order that life may achieve its full blossom. The realization of memories holds great potential. Much like the life of art that is created in the moment but later realized gains great value. But just as art comes alive when it is visible to the public eye, must memories be spoken or shared in order to come to life in other people. Memories that are fragments of the past and in the making are interwoven in the fabric of community when shared. Of course, memories that are realized are strung together in understanding of a bigger picture that is told as a story. And those that listen closely will almost always find wisdom.

Memories have great germinative power. If cherished, positive memories may instill in someone profound gratitude and appreciation for what was and possibly still is. And at times, painful or bitter memories make evident the room there always is for improvement or reconciliation. They can be signs, blueprints of character traces, watermarks in other people’s lives, or simply living and breathing events unraveling with time. Whatever memories function in the lives of diverse people, they lie uneasily as a form of credibility but serve as discrete catalysts for staggering change.