In a certain novel of fantasy, a certain author of reputation develops the idea of an object that she calls a pensieve, which is basically a bowl that holds memories. When a person's brain gets too full, or when a particular memory is too intense to keep in a character's head, the memory can be stored in the pensieve. Any person can dive headfirst into the pensieve, where they can stand in the memory as an invisible observer and watch the events play out. Remember this concept.
I've been reflecting lately on friendship and memories. Now, I love my friends, and I have several dear friends that I have made since moving to Waco. My life would be very sad and incomplete without them. But there is something special and unique about friends that I have from past phases of my life. In a way, reminiscing with old friends (this includes sisters and family members) makes my memories come back alive. The Counting Crows sing that "memories are films about ghosts," and there is something to that. When I'm by myself, my memories are only as good as my own perspective. But when I am sharing memories with friends, it is as if those ghosts from the past come out of murky shadows and become flesh and blood once again. It's like friends are pensieves for one another, and when we dive headlong into our memories together, we can watch them in living color.
I have recently been reunited with a friend from my college days. I've been struggling with residual baggage from certain events from those years, and I have had a hard time fully dealing with my emotions and my faulty memories. Because I had lost touch with the friends that I was close to during that time, I felt disconnected from the very past that I needed to deal with. It has been a timely blessing to be back in touch with this friend who was close not only to me, but to the situation with which I had been wrestling. Today we sat over coffee and reminisced, and the conversation was cathartic. This friend was my pensieve; going back over past events together helped me to see my own memories in a new light.
Stephen and I are going through a time of tough transition now, and I am grateful for our good friends who are standing with us. They're giving us strength and encouragement right now, and one day when our lives have smoothed out, they'll be holding our stories of God's faithfulness. Any time we need them, those memories will be just a conversation away.
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Just my thoughts. Take them or leave them.
Who am I?
- Lindsey
- Wife. Daughter. Sister. Teacher. Friend. I'm still trying to figure out the rest.
Recent Reads
- 3- Where Trouble Sleeps by Clyde Edgerton
- 4- World Without End by Ken Follett. Pretty good sequel to Pillars.
- 5- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Really great medieval story. Good strong plot and compelling characters. Read this!
- 3- The Alchemist's Daughter. Pretty good medieval-ish novel. Good twist at the end.
- 2- Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll. If you've ever wanted explicit discussions of Elizabeth and Darcy's intimate activities, including lengthy discussions of Darcy's "love torch," this book is for you. (is redeemed to a 2 for humor)
- 4- The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. My first library sale purchase is a hit!
- 3--The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket and Brett Helquist. Okay, but not as clever as all the hype. Maybe it will be a 5 by book 13?
- 3--Stowaway by Karen Hesse. Pretty good YA novel about Captain Cook's journey to Australia.
- 4--Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. Re-reading it despite objections from my presby. friends. Always good for a fresh perspective.
- 4--Snow in August by Pete Hammill. Great, original story.
- 3-- A Monk Swimming by Malachy McCourt. Worth reading for extraordinary wit and word play, but beware of pretty objectionable content.
- 3-- Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach. Read it for the interesting content, but you'll have to overlook the author's pretentious style.
- 0--Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 by Garrison Keillor. One too many "luscious orbs" jokes.
- 4--Forever by Peter Hamill. Good if you like New York and have the sense of humor of a groundling.
- 5--The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs. Laughed out Loud
- 1--Flight of the Falcon by Daphne du Maurier. Zzzz.
- 5--Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. The good news is, you get 7000 pages before you have to say goodbye.
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3 comments:
Thanks for putting into words what most of us probably feel about our past. That's a really neat way to think about visiting with old friends - ghosts that come alive. Everyone's memory of the same event will always be different. It's nice to have conversations with old friends that bring everyone's memories together to re-create the time or event and you get a chance to re-live it for a brief moment.
Wow, that was a deep thought. On the encouragement side...Sometimes I think God has us take one step back, before taking two steps forward. This way we are constantly reminded to be thankful for all of the blessings He has allowed us to have.
On a lighter note, I hope our ghosts can co-mingle without reminding us of the clothes we used to wear...
Yeah, some of those memories are better left in the murky shadows.
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