It is sometimes said that some of us are lucky enough to get old. Of course, that might be just one perspective. It might also be said that those who die young are the lucky ones, unspoiled by life's trials and tribulations. After all, it is said that only the good die young. Billy Joel's music has more recently popularized this notion, but it does go way back in time. From Greek mythology those favored by the gods will die young preserving their beauty and innocence. The Bible shares a similar rationale, wherein the youthful dead are spared the evil and suffering that their elders enjoy. But now that I, myself, am old, I have to admit that I see this as lucky.
There once was a newborn boy by the name of David, who had only six days before he passed away, due to a medical condition that science would not develop the capability to operate on for decades. If he had lived, he would have eventually known me as his little brother. I once proclaimed that if David knew love, and felt loved, regardless of how short the duration, he missed nothing of life and living. But now I feel differently. I think I was the lucky one of the two of us. All of the memories that David would never know, amount to something of considerable value. Billy Joel, the Bible, and the Greeks were all wrong about this.
As I begin writing this piece, a movie icon from my past has died this week. She was 75, a year younger than I am. Shelley Duval was a starlet whom I will continue to remember as a beautiful young woman. This week I have seen photos of her as an old woman. But for me, Shelley Duval will always be that starlet from The Shining, looking shocked and shaken with Jack Nicholson coming through the bathroom door the hard way, quoting Ed McMahon. Shelley Duval had the most wonderful eyes, with a beauty and depth that were unbelievable. Shelley Duval had "those eyes." And those eyes will remain a lasting fond memory of mine, for at least as long as I continue to live. David never got the chance to remember them.
Memories are a mysterious factor in the experience we call life. If you are lucky enough to be old, you have a wealth of these things to look back on.
Memory - The M-word
Memory is not as much a key component of our mental existence as we might suspect. It is far more a component of physical bodily existence. Yes, of course, memory happens in the mind, but perhaps it is far more connected with just the physical brain. Memory is heavily related to the concept of time consciousness, which itself is highly related to physical bodily existence. Learning to use memory begins with learning to manipulate our bodies. Only a bit later do we adapt this learning to include the learning of thoughts and ideas.
The primary initial function of memory is to make our use of the physical body more fluid and coordinated, more functional, predictable, and adaptable. A finely tuned professional athlete is the perfection of this process. Newborn babies are highly uncoordinated. They have no memories of bodily control except for stretching maneuvers in a very limited environment. They need to learn and then remember just how their bodies work and how to effectively control them, using the physical tools available. Babies must first learn how to use their muscles, and how to develop and strengthen those muscles.
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