MEMORIES

Memories are uncompleted past experiences,
Arising as dreams,
Asking for completion.

A bird on the wing leaves no footprint in the sand;
An experience that has been fully experienced
Leaves no footprint in the mind,
Only the wisdom of the fulfilled feeling
In the soul.

How far back can you remember?
Research tells me -- probably to around age 3, if you are a girl,
Or age 4, if you are a boy.
It doesn't matter; my question is,
Whenever it was,
What happened before then that you cannot "remember"?
In your innocence then,
You lived each experience to the fullest of your capacity,
Leaving no residue.
Our store of memories began
In that moment we first hefted unfinished emotional business.

Memories are un-lived moments,
Hanging around for completion.
Once fully experienced, they will let go,
Done with,
Incorporated into the whole.
That moment will come to each and every one of us.
If not before,
At the moment of death,
Even sudden death,
When our life is flashing before our eyes,
Time is suspended
While we complete all that is incomplete.
For the person who has passed on,
There are no loose ends.
Those of us who are left alive
Are invited to square our side of the emotional ledger.
That's why we have rituals around saying "Goodbye".