Etymology of Remember
c.1300, from O.Fr. remembrer (11c.), from L. rememorari "recall to mind, remember," from re- "again" + memorari "be mindful of," from memor "mindful" (see memory). Replaced native gemunan. The noun remembrance in the sense of "keepsake, souvenir" is recorded from 1425.
Story, story, sing to me...
from the bottom of the sea...
Story story sing to me...
from the roots and from the leaves...
Story, story sing to me,
from the edge of everything . . .
Where does memory live? What happens when a person calls a story from memory? How does the memory feel in the body? How is it shaped by imagination or lack thereof? Are there keepsakes and souvenirs in memory? Are there ruins and archeological treasures too? How is memory preserved? His story, her story...the power of memory in words and images.
The work of memoir and life story writing is invaluable to the preservation of memory and the cultivation of personal authority. Calling the story can be a call to personal empowerment. Memory is powerful. It can bring up painful feelings. It can make it difficult to be present. And it can bring up old unfinished business which wants some sort of completion and/or transformation so that the present becomes clearer and more free.
Working with a memory line is like walking a tightrope, navigating a spiderweb thread and weaving and emerging from a cocoon.
How often have I gotten stuck on my memory lines, unable to move forward into now? The past can cast quite an enchanting spell on me. Or, the past can teach me where I have unfinished business. Sometimes I need to stop and open a memory room and do the work of memory --writing, counseling, art process, contemplation, and feeling --all that the former story wishes for me to know. And then the memory line moves me forward, more complete, more whole, towards the next chapter of my life journey, rather than taking the holes of the past with me into each and every new situation.
