Forging Not Forgetting

Forging---to form, shape, make or fashion 

I read this article this morning and was reminded of when Holden, Harry and I traveled to Japan during an August, years ago.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33792789?ocid=global_bbccom_email_06082015_top+news+stories

I remember we were in Tokyo during this holiday. It gave me a sense of another country affected by tragic, historical events.  I saw how important it is every year to keep the past event alive.  The memory of loved ones alive.

It seemed so far removed from my own life, my own "ethocentrism",  before I was able to experience being in Japan during this national holiday.

 “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, 
but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, 
it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, 
we may even become friends.”      Maya Angelou

This memorial holiday didn't just close down businesses.  Many people travel great distances every year, during this time (When Hiroshima and Nagasaki were attacked by atomic bombs) to honor the lives lost and lives destroyed during this period.

 “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, 
but is played out over and over again in the quiestest chambers. 
The mind can never break off from the journey.”    Pat Conroy

It also reminds me our minds don't lose the affects of grief, either.  Yesterday was the sixth anniversary of Harry's death.  Only today did I realize we spent a glorious August together in Japan, in the past.  And many other years making memories, forging long-lasting love and commitment.  Long-lasting memories.

It's okay to memorialize.  In my opinion it's good for our hearts to continue on the path of closure.  I don't believe there is true closure as the word suggests.  We can "shut out", or "close off".  But I believe memory is connected to the heart as well as the mind.  My heart won't let me close off.  I think it's healthier to let the heart heal by leaving the memories open in spite of the pain.

An Irsh Labyrinth

I like to visualize the labyrinth.  Our life's journey takes us to the middle.  But we can't underestimate the traveling back.  It's a process.  We can stubbornly stop and refuse to continue the heart-soul's journey, but the path doesn't disappear.  It waits for us to stand up and continue.