I’ve been thinking about memory. That’s Mnemosyne’s area of responsibility. My father is in hospital and when we visit, he is spending a lot of time with her. Stories are told and re-told. Stories of youth. Of working days. Of love. Of betrayal. It’s our stories that reveal what is important about us.
Mnemosyne saves the certain moments for us. Why? Do you sometimes savour a moment, specifically for the purpose of holding it? Do you look at a gathering of loved ones, and feel yourself snapping a mental picture that you know will remain with you forever? It becomes a picture that only you have. It will alter, too. You’ll colour it, crumple it, re-imagine it, until the image serves a purpose you want it for.
Is it a catalyst? A purpose? A dream? An anchor?
Mnemosyne wraps us in the security of our past, and at her best she strengthens and guides us.
Memories can torture and claw though, as well. They can hold us back in fear as much as push us forward.
We can mire in nostalgia and lose our present when Mnemosyne has too much power in our lives.
Shawn L. Bird 
Reblogged this on Shawn L. Bird and commented:
A re-post from 2011 when we thought my dad was going to die. Saturday, Oct 25 he is 100 years old. Which isn’t particularly relevant to re-posting this, except you might wonder if you think the post is current. But it’s not. 🙂
Well said. And Happy Birthday to your father! Mine was almost 102 when he passed away with only a touch of memory loss.
Fingers crossed.
He has made it! A most happy beginning to all he may have of his second century.
Indeed.
Second-last paragraph, I know too well.