The value of memories

[TinyBubbles]

i've often heard people say that when they're old and dying, they'll want to look back on their years and remember a life well lived~ the implication being memories themselves are inherently valuable, perhaps equal in value to the experiences themselves. what do you think? when something changes in our lives, when we lose touch with certain people either through death or distance or otherwise, it's often our memories upon which we rely to help us transition through to the next phase in our life. yet, as anyone knows, a memory is not an exact recollection of an event, it, like our physical bodies, changes with time and experience. it molds to become more of what we are now, rather than what we were at the time when the memory was initially formed.

i guess what i'm asking here is, how valuable do you think these insubstantial entities we call memories truly are? would it be a great loss if we lost all our memories, or rather, our most precious ones? can the imagination fill in what the mind can no longer remember? would our experience of life be any less significant if we didn't remember as much as we do, if we could only remember a few days in the past, for example?
would love to hear your thoughts, and thanks for reading =)

 

[freybell]

I understand that our memories change as we change, but as you wisely say, memories comfort us in times of change and especially in times of loss.

My memories are a part of me, just like I am a part of my memories, and I know I wouldn't be the same person today if I couldn't remember the people who were once, but are no longer, a big part of my life.

I know this isn't really the purpose of this thread, but my grandmother suffered from Alzheimer's and advanced dementia for several years at the end of her life--seeing how that loss of memory affected her was the single worst experience of my life... but the things that kept me and my mother and my family going were our own memories of my grandma before she got sick. We love people because we remember things about them and the things we've experienced with them.

So for all these reasons, I think that memories, insubstantial as they are, are some of the most valuable things we'll ever have in life.

 

[yumiii]

They're valuable to me because they're mine, and because, be they painful or happy, they were once experiences that led me to be who I am today.
They're good to remember; lessons learned, laughters, smiles, jokes shared, sadness overcome, stuff like that.

I was wondering about your same exact question yesterday too. If I lose them, how much would it affect me?
It'd be a great loss, true, but I wouldn't mourn over spilled milk. Memories may be wonderful, but that's really all they are- memories. Everyday we create memories that we can then look back to. If we lose them, then just create new ones, memorable ones. They won't necessarily fill up what's lost, but they'll be a fresh start, a new addition.

You can't keep pining over what's lost and gone.
Cherish what's there.
You may have lost the other ones because there are betters ones to come.

 

[Gaze]

if we lost all our memories, we wouldn't be ourselves.

 

[IndigoSensor]

if we lost all our memories, we wouldn't be ourselves.

Pretty much this. Our memories define every single person on this planet. Memory defines EVERYTHING. Computers, people, animals, even physical objects such as cermaics and some chemical processes rely on memory. Without it nothing in essence could exist, or be.

 

[Matariki]

if we lost all our memories, we wouldn't be ourselves.

Quote of the year.

 

[randomsomeone]

I have a lot of memories. I don't consciously access them all very often as I live here in the present, but they are there. Nowadays I really have to try to recall important things in great detail as they happened what was seemingly so long ago. On occasion I make specific effort to recollect. It is a comfort in some ways, enriching in others, but also kinda sad....those times/places/people are gone and will never come around again. So, yes, these memories are a comfort in some ways, but even more they just give one pause to ponder and wonder at the meaning of it all.

I wasted none of my life but managed somehow to stay centered throughout and access whatever energy I have as a person in productive ways. That doesn't mean it was all easy. I guess the seeker within just showed the way and I went with it as honestly and openly as possible (silly me). Because of this my memories are very rich, diverse, and still give me a lot to draw on as a resource as I continue the adventure.

One last random thought. I also somehow managed to find memory within the broader scope of human experience by stumbling across events, episodes, and people who lived within values, with vision, and with a sense of inner freedom in their own times. These really caught my attention and have retained this over time. It's just more reference points, but it is also a peculiar kind of memory (to me anyway).

 

[Nixie]

I am not very attached to the sense of remembering. I certainly have really great memories but am content when they fade and become less distinct.

 

[Faye]

Of course they are inherently valuable. It is like daydreaming except the stuff you're dreaming about actually happened (to the extent that your memory is correct).