Less We Forget

Shoveling the driveway today I noticed how beautiful the barren trees were with the branches covered with snow. The small tree over the large worm depository pile made for a good picture, especially since in the background you could see the very large tree in the yard behind mine. The small tree I appreciate in the summer since it keeps the worm depository pile shaded for the worms. The large tree I do not appreciate since it significantly blocks the sun from the south to radiate on the garden for a good part of the day. However, once I finished shoveling and came in the house I forgot about the beauty of the snow-covered trees and thus took no pictures. So unless the snow stays on the trees till tomorrow there will be no picture this time around.

Forgetting little things soon after you think of them seems to be part of growing old. I have noticed this short-term memory loss phenomenon in other pre-elders like myself. Unless it significantly increases it seems to be a natural part of growing old. Although we have a lot in common with nature, memory seems to be something only in animals and humans with a bigger brain. A worm, the inspiration of this diary, does not have these memory loss problems. One benefit of a little memory loss is that it helps us, like a worm, to live in the present a little more. Past memories are essential to human beings to function but they can also be a hindrance.

A better way than memory loss to live in the present more is to empty one’s mind of all thoughts, past, present or future. In our day and age, when our brain is constantly stimulated, this can be difficult to do. However, it seems to be essential to enjoyable living. Some of the great persons of all times — Jesus, Gandhi, and Thomas Merton — seem to have been persons who could empty their minds and just be. They used prayer, meditation or silence to achieve this state. Martin Luther King said something like “the busier I get the more I need to take time out and pray.” Prayer, especially silencing of the mind, can bring us to the present.

Again, nature can help us understand this. Plant life is nourished during the day by sun and rain but grows in the night when all is silent. The more we can let go the less we forget.

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