The Mind

I read an article recently about Alzheimer’s Disease. It seems such a terrible thing to have your whole life erased from your consciousness. I silently thanked God that I have a memory that still serves me well.

I, like most, have an ocean of remembrances . Some golden ones that I love to revisit. Some dark and despairing that I have spent years trying to delete. I have made some terrible choices and some wise and wonderful ones, like marrying and raising a family. In my 58 years I have experienced enough for two lifetimes. As James Taylor sings, “I have seen fire and rain“. Simply put, like all of us, I have lived.

The mind is such a powerful store house of pictures, sounds and emotions. Some happy memories cause me to smile to this day. Some past remembrances well my eyes with tears just as they did ages ago. I try to travel the mountain tops of pleasant memories as much as I can, and yet I am aware that the valley experiences have often provided the greatest lessons.

I choose to draw from the well of good memories when I write. I pen, for the most part, the simple, pleasant experiences of my life. Life for us all is a mixed bag of pain and gladness. I just prefer to put on paper what I want to remain imprinted in my mind. I want to keep the rich experiences to the forefront of my thought.

After all, this memory house that I’m building each day may someday become the place where I spend the most of my time. I want that place to as pleasant as it can be.

Nov/4/2011