Thoughts on
MEMENTO MEMORI
“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
Flashback to 2013: I had just finished one phase of my life, transitioning to another. I finally get around to seeing The Office finale, during which Andy Bernard drops the gem of wisdom you see above. Without a doubt, Memento Memori is my less efficient way of demonstrating what Andy had already told us.
I’d noticed the pattern in my own life, too. Each time I entered a new phase of my life – a job, a degree, a place – I found myself looking back on the previous phase of my life: the laughs shared, the foods smelled, the feeling of the air at a certain hour in a specific spot outside.
My sentimentality wasn’t crippling. I was able to live my life, be happy, challenge myself, sure. But was I as happy as I could have been if I had injected as much fondness into the present moment as I was into the past?
“Nostalgia, the vice of the aged. We watch so many old movies our memories come in monochrome.”
It is okay to be nostalgic. Positive memories are important for humans; we should never forget the people, places, and moments that make us smile. In fact, given the fragility of memory, everyone should take effort to help preserve their memories. Take pictures. Write in diaries. Go to reunions or meetups with old friends.
But as with most things, there is a balance. To achieve this balance, I had to do some mental work. Once I finally realized the importance of prioritizing the present, things got better. Every moment of relaxation, every bout of laughter, every task spent beside a beloved acquaintance or a dear animal. Even the little things deserve appreciation: the refraction of light on the water in a glass, the wetness of the foliage at the overgrown and rusted out playground, the scent of lumber from the house under construction in that neighborhood under development during a walk with loved ones. These are marvels to experience, especially when we really ponder the overwhelming wonder of this reality and how fortunate we are to be alive.