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I post on Monday with an occasional random blog thrown in for good measure. I do my best to answer all comments via email and visit around on the days I post.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

R is for Remember

Remember: From Middle English remembren, from Middle French remembrer, from Late Latin rememoran, from Latin re plus Late Latin memorari meaning to be mindful of, from Latin memor, meaning mindful. Remember is closely related to the word memory which traces its roots back the Greek word memera meaning care and even further back to Sanskrit and the word smarati meaning, he remembers.

Remembering and/or memory can be a tricky thing. How much of what we remember is what actually happened? How much is connected to what others have told us? (Particularly early memories.) How much is colored/tainted by our emotions. Good vs bad memories. I personally have discovered some of my "bad" memories aren't (weren't?) as bad as I thought, which has been refreshing. I can laugh about some stuff because it's so stupid to hang on to negative memories, particularly when there's no reason to.

There was a time in my life when I didn't remember much of my childhood. I "clearly" remember thinking I didn't have much to remember, that my life was mundane. It wasn't until I started working with kids and in the process telling them about myself that memories began to pop up. Then when I started writing for real it was like I discovered a mine loaded with jewels. The jewels are of all sizes, shapes, colors, textures. Suddenly I had memories, suddenly I remembered. (I'm still digging in that mine, it seems pretty endless.)

Dale Carnegie said: Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.






Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world. Just start thinking peace, and the message will spread quicker than you think.
Yoko Ono.













Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Our memories are like crayons, they color our thoughts, color our writing.

What are your favorite colors? Are you into pastels, earth tones or deep blues and black? Or are you like me, a rainbow child.

If your were a coloring book with all the pictures colored and it was all that you "left behind," how would you want to be remembered?

22 comments:

  1. Lots of beautiful blues but now and then a page bursting with colours.

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  2. Trying to forget is just a process of remembering :)

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  3. Lovely quotes. I especially like the last one. Great to be here via A-Z!

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  4. I think I would be green, verdant, with hues of celery and pea. It's what I see now when I look out my office window. A sea of green.

    (BEcause I don't live near the ocean anymore and see an ocean of blue.)

    Eleanor was way ahead of her time.

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  5. I love greens, blues, golds... it's hard to pick just one. ;-)

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  6. Oh, I love Roosevelt's quote.

    I'd want to be remembered a a budding Picasso! Hehe!

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  7. The softer shades of all colours with a border of deepest black.

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  8. I tend to be drawn to reds, greens, taupe, browns. Earthy colors.
    I would want to be remembered as peaceful and cheerful and hopefully encouraging.
    Great post. I love the quotes you added in.
    Thank you! Have a wonderful day!

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  9. Every color of the rainbow, Bish. Love the pic of Yoko. Reminded me of a sadder time when John was murdered.

    Love the quote from Eleanor.

    Great post as usual. :-)

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  10. Whenever I hear remember, I always think of "Rosemary." Isn't it amazing the way the memory begins to unfold with the right trigger. Another post for me to ponder.

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  11. Lots of blue. Lovely post, Bish.

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  12. Ooh, some great quotes to go along with a lovely word.

    I like greens, greys, and blues. The ocean and the mountains.

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  13. Great post. I never saw Eleanor as a young woman before. She was beautiful, what a surprise.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium.

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  14. Very nice post! I do love all colors, but my favorite is orange! and yellow is a close second. I love bright, cheerful shades of all colors!

    It's amazing how people remember the same events quite differently. Human minds are a mysterious thing!

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  15. Blue, blue and blue. With the occasional shade of pink, rose, mauve, lavender, or orchid. A bit of pearly white and silver in there. When it comes right down to it, though, any cool-based color will work for me. The warms, not so much. And keep thee away from me, tan and goldenrod!

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  16. I'm so glad you were able to remember all those childhood gems, Bish. It's a wonderful thing, especially when we're writing for kids and can go back to our childhood and remember the way we thought and how we perceived the world. Our memories are so fickle, hanging on to certain parts of our lives while others fade away.

    If I was a coloring book, I'd have many pages of scribbles outside the lines in every color and shade, but since I was a little kid, I've always been drawn to combine red, orange and yellow and a bit of green here and there. I don't know why I'd always color with that combo, but I love all colors, bright and dull, because that's how the moments of our lives are, constantly changing and fading from one to another.

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  17. I love the quotes.
    It is strange how events can be distorted by different people's memories.

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  18. I almost went with Remember today - I think it definitely leaked into my post anyhow ~ :)

    I'd like to think my coloring book of memories would be rainbow colored, but I think a few dark clouds would inevitably show up in it. But, only a few...

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  19. I would like to say I'd be red - all fiery! But I'd probably be blue.

    Great post!

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  20. What an interesting question! I'd like to say every color would be represented, and not always contained within the lines. I'd LIKE to say that...the truth is, I'm pretty type A and every color would probably be inside every line, all coordinated. Huh. Sounds boring. Maybe I better start doing something to change that!

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  21. I've been thinking of this post and forgot to ask if you remember the song

    Remember by Nillson.

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  22. What a great question! My favorite colors are primary - red and yellow. I'm a rainbow child like you.

    I love that quote about happiness depending on how you think.

    You come up with the best quotes!

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Your Random Thoughts are most welcome!