Thoughts from watching “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
If you could erase someone or something from your memory, would you do it? Think about it, about your life, what would you erase from your memory? Can you think of a painful experience you wished you never went through? If there was a possibility of erasing that memory, would you do it?
That really got me thinking...
I have a beautiful life. It is more than perfect. It is more than anything I could dream of. But I dare not say, it has always been this way. I remember clearly the times or moments in life that wasn’t so pretty, moments in life when I was broken, lost, without hope, in pain, confused, searching, hurt.
To come to think about it, would I erase those memories if I could?
Would you want to erase the memory of a failed friendship or relationship?
Would you want to erase the memory of losing someone?
Would you want to erase the memory of someone who hurt you?
If we do not give it too much thought, the answer would be obvious. Why not? Why not erase memories that only remind us of pain and trauma?
Truth is, I am so glad nothing of that sort happened. I am so glad I erased no one from my memory. I am so glad that such technology is not legally available or is accessible right now. I am glad I remember everyone and everything, even those who may have caused me hurt. We can only be hurt by those that we love. Those that we do not love do not possess the power or privilege to hurt us. So, if we erased someone who hurt us from our memory, then we erased someone we love.
Note how I didn’t use the past tense. Someone we love and not someone we loved.
To me, love is not a feeling or an emotion. Love is a capability. It is a decision. It is an action. We fall in love because we want to, because we can. And when we no longer are on the same page, or we have somehow developed some dislike to some characteristics of the person we love, it does not mean, we no longer love that someone. We might dislike some things they do but we cannot, not love them.
Couples who break up, they don’t stop loving each other. The only thing that changes is the way they love each other. It may no longer be in a romantic manner, but they would still love each other. If one can say they no longer love their ex, then, to me, they never loved their ex in the first place.
Everyone is precious in our life, everyone has a role, everyone teach us something about ourselves. Everyone contributes to how we grow. Everyone. No one is worth erasing from our memory.
I thank God for people who have made me cry, for people who gave me sleepless nights, for people who made me angry and upset, for people who caused me pain. I thank God for all of them, but above of all that, I thank God for giving me the ability to remember them, and most importantly, the ability to appreciate them and to continue loving them. They define who I am today. Thank you for being a part of me. I would never have it any other way.
p.s For your information, there are preliminary researches reporting the ability to erase bad memories selectively. Not kidding. it's only a matter of time, before they get approved and are made available to public.
If you could erase someone or something from your memory, would you do it? Think about it, about your life, what would you erase from your memory? Can you think of a painful experience you wished you never went through? If there was a possibility of erasing that memory, would you do it?
That really got me thinking...
I have a beautiful life. It is more than perfect. It is more than anything I could dream of. But I dare not say, it has always been this way. I remember clearly the times or moments in life that wasn’t so pretty, moments in life when I was broken, lost, without hope, in pain, confused, searching, hurt.
To come to think about it, would I erase those memories if I could?
Would you want to erase the memory of a failed friendship or relationship?
Would you want to erase the memory of losing someone?
Would you want to erase the memory of someone who hurt you?
If we do not give it too much thought, the answer would be obvious. Why not? Why not erase memories that only remind us of pain and trauma?
Truth is, I am so glad nothing of that sort happened. I am so glad I erased no one from my memory. I am so glad that such technology is not legally available or is accessible right now. I am glad I remember everyone and everything, even those who may have caused me hurt. We can only be hurt by those that we love. Those that we do not love do not possess the power or privilege to hurt us. So, if we erased someone who hurt us from our memory, then we erased someone we love.
Note how I didn’t use the past tense. Someone we love and not someone we loved.
To me, love is not a feeling or an emotion. Love is a capability. It is a decision. It is an action. We fall in love because we want to, because we can. And when we no longer are on the same page, or we have somehow developed some dislike to some characteristics of the person we love, it does not mean, we no longer love that someone. We might dislike some things they do but we cannot, not love them.
Couples who break up, they don’t stop loving each other. The only thing that changes is the way they love each other. It may no longer be in a romantic manner, but they would still love each other. If one can say they no longer love their ex, then, to me, they never loved their ex in the first place.
Everyone is precious in our life, everyone has a role, everyone teach us something about ourselves. Everyone contributes to how we grow. Everyone. No one is worth erasing from our memory.
I thank God for people who have made me cry, for people who gave me sleepless nights, for people who made me angry and upset, for people who caused me pain. I thank God for all of them, but above of all that, I thank God for giving me the ability to remember them, and most importantly, the ability to appreciate them and to continue loving them. They define who I am today. Thank you for being a part of me. I would never have it any other way.
p.s For your information, there are preliminary researches reporting the ability to erase bad memories selectively. Not kidding. it's only a matter of time, before they get approved and are made available to public.
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