On Making Memories…

In this marvelous mind, this marvelous memory God has given, are stored away the impressions of life: what we have done and seen and thought and heard and said⎯all that makes the total experience of each of us. Sometimes thoughts come quickly when we want to bring them back. Sometimes it takes a moment, or less or longer, to remember what we would like to remember. Sometimes memories come to our consciousness uninvited, whether we wish them to or not. The working and the wonder of memory, no man is wise enough to know. But one of the sobering lessons of life is this: the record is there⎯thoughts, experiences, impressions of places and people⎯all of them⎯and the unwanted thoughts return as well as the wanted ones⎯the negative, the unclean stories, the sordid sights and scenes, as well as wholesome, pleasant, happy sights and scenes. And so the responsibility of making memories, for ourselves and others, is with us always. This places upon parents the sacred obligation to help make wholesome memories for children; happy memories of home; and upon teachers, upon us all, to deal with them in fairness, kindness, encouragement; with memories that will bless and strengthen and sustain them later in life. This places upon us all the obligation to deal with all others in honor⎯always, wherever we are, to live and act so as not to be embarrassed when we meet any person, anyplace, when memories choose to come back: to live as far as possible, so as to remember happily our whole life, and to help make that kind of memories for others also. Everyone who deals with anyone in the closest or in the most remote relationships of life should so live as to make memories pleasant, honorable, clean and fair⎯memories that will not embarrass us when we meet anyone, anywhere. We should remember to do what we will be happy to remember we have done.