Most of us think about our memory as a dusty place where we sit from time to time looking back.  It is a place to think about the “good old days” and reconnect with people who lived back then.  It is a place where nostalgia overshadows reality.  When our present days are troubled we may take refuge in the memory of what was and remind ourselves that there was a better time.

However, I am not all that sure that memory is a place of unchanging truths and events or people.  Memories may just grow with us along our journey.  In the telling and re-telling, our memories are shaped by present needs, hopes and dreams.  In fact, there may be more of the present than the past about our memories.

Why are some memories remembered and others allowed to slip away?  Why does the telling of certain stories change over time, especially those that seem to suggest something about who we are?  Our present hurts and hopes may influence what and how we remember our past.  Our present challenges and insecurities may shape the way we remember and reframe where we came from or who we have become.

As these memories respond to a lifetime of “present remembering” an image of the self begins to emerge from the background of a lifetime.  This person is probably as accurate a biography as we will ever read about ourselves.

And so, I invite you to pull up a rocker amid the dusty memories that are scattered around you.  And look, not just at the memories, but the re-membering that is taking place.  In the midst of the cobwebs of old stories, especially those that have been told and retold, listen for the person telling the stories and see if you recognize them.  In them you may find the person you have sought your entire life!  Get to know that person.   Learn to love them.  When you do, the golden light of life will surround you and you may just will find the peace you have been seeking.  Welcome home, Pilgrim!