ANGELA WRIGHT | AUTHOR & COLUMNIST | AlwaysAngelaWright@gmail.com

Taking Time To Remember

Recently my father passed away. He suffered from Alzheimer’s. He was a teacher. My dad taught just about every subject and coached almost every sport. Believe it or not, he even taught memory skills. It was horrific to watch this super highly intelligent man with an amazing memory, slowly lose it. It has made me really dig down deep and reflect on memory and remembering.

As we age, we all have the normal problems of forgetting things. We do the ‘where are my glasses, oh they are on my head’ thing. Then there is walking into a room and forgetting what we went in there for. We think to ourselves, ‘how dumb was that?’ Then there are those who have had injuries which cause memory loss and of course the dreaded Alzheimer’s. Those of us who can, try to step in and remember for them. Memory can be an awful thing if you lose it. But, it is also a wonderful awesome gift if you remember to use it while you can.

We remember important events like Birthdays, Anniversary’s and Holidays. So why can’t we take the time to remember the happiest of times in our lives? What if we took the time to really use our minds and remember all the big and little things that are so meaningful to us? What if we woke up, put our feet on the floor each morning and thought of a special memory? What if that special memory carried so much positive energy that it wiped out all our negativity for the day? What if that positivity was then infectious to others? Do you remember running, jumping, laughing and playing without a care in the world? How about remembering a glorious sunset? What if we remembered to really stop and smell the roses? What about remembering to give thanks for all those memories we have been blessed with? What if our reflecting and remembering lead us to a smile, and “hello” to a neighbor? What if that smile and “hello” lead our neighbor to do the same to another and another, because of you?

You see, being mindful and remembering the great memories sets a positive tone for your day. That practice may lead toward opening a door for a stranger, saying “God Bless” when someone sneezes, helping a fellow man struggling with groceries, the list goes on and on. What if we at least practiced being mindful of remembering the good? What if the practice over positive started depleting the negative out of our lives?

Our excuses are usually, we are too busy or sorry I forgot. It’s easy to get wrapped up and not take the time. But, what if this practice of remembering opened us up to total gratitude? What if we could tap into those wonderful days of play? Just remembering ‘you’ and all you have accomplished in your life could be a great way to start the day. What if before our memory is gone we remember to forgive? Most of all what if we always remembered to say, “I love you?” What if?

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