Remembering and remembrance

Picture: Young boy looking up at all the names on the wall at the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

A few days ago I heard something about the experience of having your life flash before your eyes just before you die. I thought to myself, “Gee, I wonder what I’ll remember at that moment?” Ask yourself that question. What answers immediately come to mind.?

It’s easy to toss around the phrase “I remember that.”

I’m not talking about recall of facts or figures, or the passive and reactive “Oh yeah…” when someone else prompts you with the oft-heard “Do you remember…?”

Remembrance is active.

One of the moments I remember most from this summer’s trip to Hawaii is visiting the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor with my son. Pearl Harbor is a place that forces you to remember or reflect upon what happened there. This image of my son could be stamped upon my mind as a moment where I can see him growing up, thinking of bigger things. Empathy, perhaps?

I wonder if this will be one of the images in that flash-before-my-eyes movie? Franlky, I’m perfectly happy if I have to wait a very long time to find out. But taking the moment to think about it now, to actively remember the memory is like giving an affirmative recognition as to what is important during our brief temporal visit.

Take a moment to reflect on what’s important to you.

Please, please, please… don’t let the first thing you think of be Paris Hilton or Lady Gaga.