Mementos

Mementos in the car - traveling joys! 

Throughout my life, I have collected mementos: things to remind me of special people and experiences that have had been formative and edifying. I think this is normal; while I know that these things do not fully capture the essence of the event, they convey a key emotion: the concert photos call to mind the songs sung with a friend, the greeting card tucked under the windshield a kind expression of kin-ship on a road trip, the half-masticated book a gnarled (and gnawed!) recollection of a puppy's teething times.

The emotional or sentimental value is undisputed. These triggered memories offer warmth to our minds and hearts as they transport us to a different time and space. When we can chose the memento we are choosing the memory - usually a time of connection, of love, of happiness.

Perhaps this is why I am so intentional about keeping mementos wherever I am... the coffee mugs at the office are gifts from friends, as though they were joining me daily for that caffeine hit and a conversation... the baby photo of my godson tucked in the visor of the car, giving me a swelling heart every time the sun is out... the jewelry with connections that span continents and decades. 

So too, I have numerous mementos that connect to my faith development and spiritual journey: the soapstone seal on my nightstand a daily reminder of a friends' prayers over me... the photo of the sunrise view from the day I could first articulate a calling to the priesthood... the stole that was placed on my shoulders at my home parish when I was ordained. 

The beauty of mementos is that whatever part of our life they come from and represent, they carry with them some form of connection. They forever link us to spaces and places that show us what it is like to love and be loved, what it is like to be unrestricted by constructs of time, and released from social expectation of worth. 

So let's carry these mementos with us - at home or work or in-between - for anything that can bring us a joy-filled memory is a thing that is truly to be cherished.