The Grace of Memory

I have always been fascinated by clouds. For many years, while driving to work I’d look up at the sky and thank God for the clouds – for the new and vast array He painted each morning. Of late, I’ve been intrigued by what Microsoft or Apple call the Cloud or the iCloud – you know, the thing that “empowers your business” or “makes sure all your photos, documents are up to date.” Wow, after all these years of noticing clouds, I had no idea they could do all that! So, that made me wonder – what happens when the clouds move away? And, how do you know which cloud your “stuff” is on? And, if you know me, you know I would ask: “Who’s organizing all this?” That leads me to another thought – once again, the computer world is trying to mimic a human! Here they are, putting items in storage on a cloud; so why didn’t they just call it a brain? And, that got me to thinking about our brain.

Did you know we typically process 100,000 thoughts per day? Think of the amazing filing system our brain entails! Did you also know the brain consists of around 150,000 miles of blood vessels, working perfectly even at high speed?

Relating technology’s “cloud” to our brain made me think of all the wonders of our brain. You hop onto a bike and instantly your brain goes to that file to determine how to ride or you get into your car and the same process happens and soon you’re moving along. The amazing part is the memory. Isn’t it awesome that you can think of someplace you’ve been and picture it instantaneously, with clarity, color and detail. What a gift. Our memory also helps us remember those who have passed – visualizing a person’s smile or a fun moment with that person. A sweet memory.

But then there are also moments that are not so pleasant to remember. Sad moments or argumentative moments or hurtful moments are not so nice to remember. Yet, sometimes we wallow in these moments even though it causes suffering. Eckhart Tolle says “Suffering usually relates to wanting things to be different from the way they are.” Tolle, known for his book A New Earth, also says “As long as you resist suffering, it is a slow process because the resistance creates more ego to burn up. When you accept suffering, however, there is an acceleration of that process which is brought about by the fact that you suffer consciously.” Thus, “The fire of suffering becomes the light of consciousness.”

I have heard that when we go to the past in our memory, we go to depression; and when we go to the future, we bring about anxiety. Isn’t it amazing that in a few seconds we can recall something negative from the past and instantly create a belief that something drastic could happen in the future, based on that thought? So, in one quick moment, we’ve handed our self a double whammy! It makes me wonder why we ever think negative thoughts!

So, here’s my thoughts on this whole memory thing – you can store whatever you want on a Cloud, if you choose; but try really hard when something from your own memory comes up to find the good in it – to find a redeeming factor to it – to realize you wouldn’t have grown if that had not happened to you, to remember that we’re all human; and if that memory is painful, know that the person who initiated the pain only ever experienced pain related to that issue. Time to find compassion.

If you had not suffered as you have,

there would be no depth to you as a human being,

no humility, no compassion.

Eckhart Tolle