On Acquiring Memories

Cicero’s remarkable essay on old age has in it as much of wisdom for youth as for those who are older: “…the harvest of old age,” he said, “is … the memory and rich store of blessings laid up in earlier life.”
An observation by an unknown author suggests some further thinking on this same subject: “When saving for old age,” he said, “be sure you put away a few pleasant thoughts.”
And there is this sentence from an eminent scientist: “…the memory of an individual is written in indelible script in space and time.”4 This all suggests that all men, whether they live short lives or long, should prepare for a long journey—everlasting long—for at that moment when the Lord God says we have lived our length of mortal life there is a sharp separation between what we can take with us into eternity and what we can keep only for time.
The Lord God gave us the good things of the earth to enjoy with “prudence and thanksgiving,” but earnestly we need to keep a balance in our lives between what we can keep forever, and what is needful only now. The happiest harvest for time or eternity includes character and knowledge, truth and intelligence, the satisfaction of service, respect and trust; the love and goodness and purity laid up in life, and the assurance of peace and a quiet conscience, of everlasting progress, and of renewal of association with loved ones.
And in acquiring memories of our own, and in making them for others, the whole long and everlasting length of life should be taken into account: with memories—of friends, of loved ones, of service given, of the keeping of the commandments, memories of high standards and courage and conviction, (memories that will et us look unflinchingly into the eyes of every man we meet, and unto Him who is the Judge and Father of us all.)
Since memory is written “indelibly in time and space” there are some kinds of memories we should remember not to make, and some beautiful memories we should remember to make for old age—and for all the ages after—memories written on the everlasting record that would be kindly to recall.