A Way to Remember

I have a library full of memories. Good ones. Bad ones. And life. Life in between those moments that take your breath away and make you want to live in that moment forever and those you wish you could forget. Life: The ordinary, everyday workings of merely surviving. Time spent walking the dog, going to work, or making dinner. Time that is neither good nor bad, just spent. This is time remembered, at least in the short term, but does it translate into memories? I don't think of yesterday as a series of memories. But I remember yesterday. So what makes a memory?

Memories, for me, are defining moments or experiences that stand out from my everyday life; my ordinary minutes, hours, and days. The time during which I really feel alive; things and experiences that are extraordinary whether they be amazing or spectacularly awful. Not the usual night out with friends but the night with friends that really makes you feel something. The night that you know all of you will remember and never forget. Laughing until your belly hurts, first kisses, last goodbyes. Heartache, uncontrollable excitement, overwhelming sadness, and utter happiness; this is the stuff memories are made of...

I feel lucky in that I've been able to experience more than most. I have so many memories. Some full of heartache and sadness, but so many more fantastic, spectacular, great, and unforgettable minutes, hours, and days. I want more. I want to make sure that when my life is at its end I've really lived each and every moment of my life. I want a memory in every moment. I don't want the everyday in between time. Or I at least, don't want to think of it that way. Is it possible? Can every moment of everyday life really be that exciting? Maybe.

Big Fish. If you haven't seen it go rent it. It's life told in a way that makes memories in every moment seem possible. It's about choosing to look at and experience life in such a way that every day isn't so everyday or ordinary. It's imagination. It's life exaggerated. It's a movie about an ordinary life lived in an extraordinary way. It's a way to remember. And it's a way I'd like to learn to live...