Savvy Thinker » Memory and forgetting http://savvythinker.com thinking about life, playing with makeup Tue, 22 May 2012 15:37:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The Past In Light Of The Present http://savvythinker.com/the-past-in-light-of-the-present/ http://savvythinker.com/the-past-in-light-of-the-present/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:04:24 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/02/22/the-past-in-light-of-the-present/

February 22, 2007
The Past In Light Of The Present
Knowing Better Now

When we look back at the past, knowing what we know now, we often find it difficult to understand how we made the mistakes we made. This is because once we learn new information, it is nearly impossible to reenter the headspace we were in before we learned that information. And so we look back at parents who spanked their kids, for example, and wonder how they could have thought that was a good idea. Similarly, our personal pasts are full of mistakes we can't believe we made. We did things then that we would never do now, and this is precisely because we have information now that we didn't have, or weren't able to access, then.

From ideas about how to raise children to how to treat the environment, our collective human past sometimes reads like a document on what not to do. In many ways, this is exactly as it should be. We learn from living and having experiences. It is from these past actions that we garnered the information that guides us to live differently now. Just so, in our personal lives, we probably had to have a few unsuccessful relationships or jobs, learning about our negative tendencies through them, in order to gain the wisdom we have now.

In order to live more peacefully with the past, it helps to remember that once we know better, we tend to do better. Prior to knowing, we generally do our best, and while it's true that from the perspective of the present, our best doesn't always seem good enough, we can at least give our past selves the benefit of the doubt. We did our best with what knowledge we had. Beyond this, we serve the greater good most effectively by not dwelling on the past, instead reigning our energy and knowledge into our present actions. It is here, in this moment, that we create our reality and ourselves anew, with our current knowledge and information. Daily OM, see link at front page

Originally posted 2007-02-22 12:56:33.

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]]> http://savvythinker.com/the-past-in-light-of-the-present/feed/ 1 When something is Just Not Me [JNM] any longer http://savvythinker.com/when-something-is-just-not-me-jnm-any-longer/ http://savvythinker.com/when-something-is-just-not-me-jnm-any-longer/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 03:01:10 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/02/18/when-something-is-just-not-me-jnm-any-longer/

My friend Lee wrote this about fragrances that he used to wear, but I thought it fit just thinking of life as well. I asked him to share it here. It's a truism that we can't go back -- we have to go forward. But to realize that we have changed too, well, that's a significant insight.

Karin

It’s JNM now because it was exactly me back then, and I’ve changed. Attempting to recapture the past seems like a trap to me, and I’d rather enjoy the nostalgia than pretend I’m still the person I once was. So I’ll sniff it, experience the pleasant melancholia that comes with that peculiar personal engagement with the passing of time, but not try to be it ever again. Lee, with permission

Originally posted 2007-02-18 14:13:21.

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]]> http://savvythinker.com/when-something-is-just-not-me-jnm-any-longer/feed/ 0 The Archimedes Codex unpeeled http://savvythinker.com/the-archimedes-codex-unpeeled/ http://savvythinker.com/the-archimedes-codex-unpeeled/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:18:03 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2008/04/17/the-archimedes-codex-unpeeled/

This is fascinating stuff! It's amazing to me that the book survived, much less is readable (after 9 years!)

This is about an ancient book called The Archimedes Codex, bought for $2.2 million in October, 1998, at an auction in New York City by an anonymous collector who sent it to the Walters Art Museum, here to be restored, conserved, and probed for its content. It was thought to contain mathematical theses conceived by the genius of Syracuse (287-212 BC), whose name it bears, ideas not found anywhere else in the world.

The Walters faced a daunting task: what arrived was a clump of folios, crushed, torn, punctured by worm holes, in the inflexible grip of old carpenter's glue, charred at its edges, and covered with mold and water stains.

It's a miracle it still exists.

It took four years just to remove the glue, and open the book sufficiently to allow experts on ancient Greek texts to access much of its content and, with the help of ultra sophisticated imaging systems, to read it.

Modern technology is opening its information to us.

Imagine being the man who is in charge of this (for nine years).

The Archimedes texts were copied in the 10th century by an unknown scribe in Constantinople, then a major center of the Christian world eventually to become a center of the Islamic world. Three centuries later, another scribe washed, scraped, and otherwise tried to remove the text from the book's parchment. This person undid the book, rebound it in the opposite direction, then, on the imperfectly cleared pages, wrote his Christian prayers in Greek over the original text, which was also in Greek, and still discernible in a faint rust-colored thread running beneath. This procedure was common in medieval times: Parchment was scarce. Thus, the Archimedes Codex became a palimpsest, a twice-used book.

The findings gleaned from it have raised Archimedes's status as a thinker higher than anyone might have expected. Noel describes him as "the most important scientist who ever lived."

Karin

Originally posted 2008-04-17 11:13:35.

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]]> http://savvythinker.com/the-archimedes-codex-unpeeled/feed/ 2 Seeing the present moment as a sacrament http://savvythinker.com/seeing-the-present-moment-as-a-sacrament/ http://savvythinker.com/seeing-the-present-moment-as-a-sacrament/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:41:22 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/09/06/seeing-the-present-moment-as-a-sacrament/
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    Maybe, I put blinkers on, but I can't remember any miserable times in my life. I see the present moment as a sacrament. It's all about sacrament -- eating, conversing, being with friends, telling a good joke and making people laugh. Sister Immaculata Knox

    Seeing the human and divine coincidence in the particular, individual, mundane, even normal moments of our lives is a way of recognizing and appreciating the sacred in our days. Maybe if we connect the dots of these moments it is a help when we are going through rough waters.

    Because you will forget your misery and remember it as waters that pass away [water under the bridge.] KJV Job 11:16 and commentary on NKJV

    It is certainly something to hold onto and claim when things are tough. And when they are easy, it multiples the good in it to recognize it and to see God as the source of it.

    Sometimes we go in the strength of our reserves. It's a truism then that we better have some. Every time we see the present moment as a sacrament, I think we are adding to our reserves, then we have something to draw upon when needed. Other things that build reserves are getting enough rest; taking care of ourselves, not putting ourselves last; making sure we eat at regular times; being with those we love and who love us; laughter; growing spiritually; a little inspiration; reading a good book; listening to a mentor...

    One pathway to hope is to choose your memories very carefully....put a frame around them. So many hopeful things happen day in and day out, but we lose them if we don't stop for a moment, think about them, and consciously frame them. Arthur P Ciaramicoli

    How do you build your reserves? Make it a priority.

    Karin

    Originally posted 2007-09-06 15:31:01.

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    ]]>     http://savvythinker.com/seeing-the-present-moment-as-a-sacrament/feed/ 0     Who is the keeper of your memories? http://savvythinker.com/who-is-the-keeper-of-your-memories/ http://savvythinker.com/who-is-the-keeper-of-your-memories/#comments Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:33:18 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2008/06/21/who-is-the-keeper-of-your-memories/
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    Reading Kinsella's book has got me thinking.

    Who is the keeper of my memories? Is there any one person who would know enough about my life to help me put it back together again?

    I tend to be a reticent person, picking and choosing what and when to share, while at the same time being out-going. Some aspects of my life I haven't shared with anyone, and some things I might yet share at the right time with the right persons under the right circumstances. I suppose that says that I don't trust easily.

    It used to be in pre-writing societies that the Keeper of Memories was a revered person, one who kept memories alive of the families and their history. It was important that it be remembered exactly and told in the same manner.

    I'd have to get together with several of my friends and family in order to piece together the fabric of my life. And I suspect that some memories would clash with each other. Not all views of me would be the same.

    It's quite a heady subject. One that hopefully I'll never have to test.

    How about you?

    Karin

    Originally posted 2008-06-21 09:27:24.

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    ]]>     http://savvythinker.com/who-is-the-keeper-of-your-memories/feed/ 0     Nicholas Winton, an admirable man http://savvythinker.com/nicholas-winton-an-admirable-man/ http://savvythinker.com/nicholas-winton-an-admirable-man/#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 03:38:05 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=4681
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    In the presence of good

    Nicholas Winton, now 100 years old, was a 29 year old London stockbroker who traveled to Czechoslovakia in 1938, where he rescued hundreds of Jewish children from likely or certain death. Winton's parents were of German Jewish descent.

    Even his wife didn't know about it until 40 years after they were married, he remarked in 1999.

    Everything that happened before the war actually didn't feel important in the light of the war itself.

    Winton, alarmed at the time -- and rightly -- that Czechoslovakia would be invaded by the Nazis and Jewish residents sent to concentration camps, persuaded British officials to accept the children as long as foster homes were found and a 50 pound guarantee was paid for each child. He set about raising funds and organizing passage.

    Eight trains carried the children to Britain in the months before the war. A few went to Sweden. Many never saw their parents again, because of the Holocaust.

    To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the rescue, a vintage train carrying about two dozen survivors and their families pulled into London's Liverpool Street Station this past Friday after three days journey by rail and ferry from Prague. They greeted Nicholas, frail though he was.

    It's wonderful to see you all after 70 years. Don't leave it quite so long until we meet here again. Nicholas Winton

    I never heard about him until today when the story of the kindertransports was retold in our paper.

    It's quite remarkable that someone in the heat of confusing times would be led to act decisively in a timely fashion without regard to himself to save others and give them life. It looks easy in retrospect, but I bet we don't know the half of it or the persuading that needed to take place. And I don't suppose that 50 pounds each was a small sum in those days, not to mention the cost of passage.

    To me, he is a righteous man. The world would have been poorer without him. He's another man I'd like to know. I was glad he lived long enough to be recognized for his part. And not to forget the part of all those who aided in giving funds, some of whom might have been their own families. May their memories be for a blessing.

    Had you heard of him before?

    Don't be content in your life just to do no wrong; Be prepared every day to try and do some good. Sir Nicholas Winton

    Karin
    www.savvythinker.com
    don't steal my posts -- you know who you are!

    Originally posted 2009-09-05 11:23:59.

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    ]]>     http://savvythinker.com/nicholas-winton-an-admirable-man/feed/ 2     Review: have a little faith by Mitch Albom http://savvythinker.com/review-have-a-little-faith-by-mitch-albom/ http://savvythinker.com/review-have-a-little-faith-by-mitch-albom/#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:55:55 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=7151
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    I thoroughly enjoyed have a little faith ... a true story. A friend loaned me her copy yesterday, saying I would love it. She was right.

    Albom also wrote Tuesdays with Morrie and other books.

    Albom was raised in the Jewish faith. But he had drifted away, making more and more time for work and less and less for any sense of religion, except he would go back home and sit with his parents in his seat in the synagogue for High Holy days. He never joined a temple where he lived.

    During one of his visits, the only rabbi he ever knew as his rabbi, the one from his childhood, asks him if he would write the eulogy for his funeral, not that he is dying, but he is in his 80s.

    And so begins the true story of a return to faith.

    Albom feels he must get to know the rabbi better, so he begins to fly in on weekends and ask him questions, the large questions of faith, interviewing him. Do you believe? Why do you believe? How did you survive the loss of your 5 year old daughter? How did you reconcile it to your faith? Do you believe in heaven? What about forgiveness? What comes after this life? Will we meet again?

    And about the same time he meets a Detroit pastor, ministering to the poorest of the poor, who himself had been a convict, drug user and who-knows-what-all-else. For a long time Albom doesn't trust that the man is real. His before-story seems so beyond belief, to come from that into this.

    The book is written not quite in alternating chapters, but close. One chapter will be the story of the rabbi (Albert Lewis) as it unfolds. Then a chapter will be of Henry Covington. And occasionally there will be excerpts from Lewis' sermons.

    I felt it was a privilege to walk the path of faith with these three men. After all, each of our faith walks is different, but all of value to God.

    Have you read this book?
    I give it 4 stars out of 4 stars.

    It is also available for Kindle:

    Karin

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    Originally posted 2010-08-25 15:24:56.

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    ]]>     http://savvythinker.com/review-have-a-little-faith-by-mitch-albom/feed/ 0     Another inspiring woman http://savvythinker.com/another-inspiring-woman/ http://savvythinker.com/another-inspiring-woman/#comments Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:30:42 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/04/27/another-inspiring-woman/
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    Nola is about to graduate college at age 95. She sounds like a pip!

    I want to be like her when I grow up.

    When you consider how much negative news there is, it is refreshing to have something so upbeat. Maybe it won't be bad to be 95, ya think?

    You go, gal!

    Karin

    Originally posted 2007-04-27 12:20:57.

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    ]]>     http://savvythinker.com/another-inspiring-woman/feed/ 0     Universal emotions http://savvythinker.com/universal-emotions/ http://savvythinker.com/universal-emotions/#comments Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:29:08 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/03/02/universal-emotions/
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    I know anger is a universal emotion. But the juxtaposition of my short remark yesterday about dealing with my own angry anger was followed by receiving this message into my email box. I had to laugh. Again, I think this reaches way beyond the bounds of divorce, into universals.

    Defining Anger
    Day 59

    Dr. Les Carter says that having anger means standing up for your own worth, needs, and convictions.

    "You don't get angry when folks are kind, pleasant, or understanding. Anger shows up when someone has rejected you or is being uncooperative, or when a person is being critical, harsh, or difficult to get along with. When anger appears on the scene, it arouses your sense of self-preservation.

    "You want to preserve one of three things. You want to preserve your worth as a human being; your anger can be your way of wishing to say, 'Please, show me some respect, will you?' Anger can be your way of preserving your basic needs: 'Recognize that I have needs, and acknowledge them, please.' Or anger can be a way that you stand up for your deepest convictions. It is your way of saying, 'I believe in things, and I don't want to back away from them.'"

    You will feel anger at some point in your divorce. [You fill in the blank for whatever is making you angry. Karin] Do not try to deny or suppress this emotion. God does not condemn you for your anger when it is justified. God Himself is described as "slow to anger"--not "never angry."

    "And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness'" (Exodus 34:6).

    Lord God, sometimes my anger is justifiable; sometimes it's not. Help me to be slow to anger, like You. Amen.

    For more information about DivorceCare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please visit.

    I can't figure out if I have very little anger (because I hardly ever feel or express it) or if it is so sublimated and running so deep that I'd better get a handle on it. Who knows. I'm not going to waste any time over it. I imagine it's a bit of both. The Serenity Prayer comes in handy at times:

    God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Reinhold Niebuhr

    It's a truism that progress happens because of discontent, even anger. Otherwise, we'd still be living in caves.

    A Bible verse I especially love is:

    Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. KJV

    Karin

    I do not know about the workbook that is presented below as I have never seen it.

    Suggested reading from the DivorceCare HelpCenter

    The Anger Workbook
    Les Carter

    A 13-step interactive plan that explains how emotions and unmet needs can feed anger--and tells how readers can find healthy ways to express and control it. This unique workbook offers answers for anyone who struggles with destructive anger and wants to develop healthy alternatives for dealing with it. The only anger management program on the market that offers interactive exercises to help the readers understand and modify behavior.

    Go to the following link to order this or other resources from the DivorceCare HelpCenter:

    Originally posted 2007-03-02 07:59:20.

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    ]]>     http://savvythinker.com/universal-emotions/feed/ 0     Review Voyage of the Dawn Treader http://savvythinker.com/review-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader/ http://savvythinker.com/review-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader/#comments Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:17:05 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=7434
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    The whole family went to see this over the Christmas break.

    This movie returns us to the magic and wonder of C.S. Lewis` beloved world of Narnia. It is simply a good story, one with elements of spirituality, if you are not interested in the Christian metaphors, such as Aslan the Lion, who represents Christ.

    It opens with a brief vignette concerning World War II and the differences in the lives of the children who are left in England, compared to their older sister who is not.

    For me, it was fun to see how the children have grown up.

    In this latest movie from `The Chronicles of Narnia` motion picture franchise, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their insufferable cousin Eustace (who learns his own lessons) are magically transported into Narnia through a painting of a ship on the sea -- the special effects of that are well done.

    Once on the ship, the Dawn Treader, they are reunited with their royal friend King Caspian, and a warrior mouse (that I think looks like a clothed rat.)

    As much as I disliked their cousin, I loved the mouse. He provides humor, courage, friendship and more. He is very well done.

    I especially liked the lesson Lucy learns that it is best to be oneself, not to wish one were someone else. The consequences of becoming someone else are far reaching and involve the actual loss of oneself -- and even of the knowledge of Narnia. In that respect, the lesson is similar to the one learned in It's a Wonderful Life.

    If you like a good yarn, go see the movie. I give it 3* out of 4. It is beautifully filmed and nicely acted.

    Have you seen it?

    Karin
    www.savvythinker.com




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