Food For Thought

“Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads - at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making new reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in awhile, let in fresh air, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you'll live forever in your own private library.” 

                          --Haruki Murakami

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I saw the quote above on a Ladybug Whispers post on facebook. It intrigued me enough to find out more about the man who said it. Haruki Murakami is a contemporary Japanese author. He and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to memories. I decided to borrow the quote and lovely picture to share with you here. 

Like Murakami, I cherish memories and I think all writers need to do so in a big way. So much of what we write is drawn from our memories which are there because of our many experiences as we travel through our life journey. As the quote indicates, we keep adding new memories and every now and then, we need to sort through them and see which ones might be useful to us now.

I wrote a short essay years ago titled "Dust Off Those Holiday Memories."  It was published at a site called 2TheHeart and then I posted it later at Our Echo, a website where writers post their work for readers around the world. When I read the quote above this morning, I immediately thought of that essay, as it has similar threads, although it may not be said quite as eloquently. You can read the short piece here.

Read Murakami's quote a few times, let it soak in. It will give you food for thought for the rest of this day.