A Soulful Journey

 “When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are.  It means you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us.” -   Frederick Buechner

 "...the pure spirit shall flow Back to the burning foundation whence it came, A portion of the Eternal, which must glow Through time and change, unquenchably the same... Truely, he has outsoared the shadow of our night."  -Shelly's "Adonis"

 These are the true righteous- even in their death they are thought of as living.  -Berachot 18a Our good deeds outlive us.

A rabbi saw a member of his congregation walking his dog.  "What a nice dog you have," the rabbi said. "This is my Kaddish," answered the man sarcastically. The Rabbi responded, "I am delighted that you have a better Kaddish than your father had."  - Rabbi Hillel Silverman. Never forget where you came from.  Know where you are going.  Do the right thing.  Remember.

“ When I was young I had such a good memory that I remembered things that never happened.” – Mark Twain We all have selective memories.  May we so conscious as to select only the good ones.

A King once passed through a large dense forest on a hunting trip. In the thick depths he became lost and could not find the way home. The monarch saw several villagers and peasants in the forest but when he asked them to guide him they did not know how for they had never traveled the Kings highway and we’re not familiar with it. Then the king met a wise and understanding man and as soon as the monarch asked about the highway the man instantly recognized that this was the king himself. With great honor and respect the man obeyed his king immediately. Being very wise he knew every turn of the main road. He led the king back to his palace and saw to it that the king should take his rightful place on the throne. The King was vey pleased with this wise man, he appointed him to most exalted position, higher than all the other princes and nobles. He had him dressed in the finest robes and commanded that his old clothes be preserved as a memento amongst the royal treasures. Many year...

Visiting a cemetery,  a pastor noticed a pile of urns stacked one upon another.  He asked the attendant if they were his stock of empties.  The attendant replied reluctantly, "They contain the ashes of bodies that have been cremated, but the relatives never thought enough to return and claim them." -James Frasier When a yahrzeit comes we remember.  When certain actions remind us of things they said or did the dead come alive.  Nobody wants to be forgotten and it is up to us to not forget their teachings and passing on the lesson of memory.

"Great tzaddikim become even greater in the aftermath of their lives."  - Talmud, Hullin 7b It is good to have a selective memory.  Imagine how much greater if we could make this a reality during life.......

"When I was young I had such  good memory that I remembered things that never happened."  -Mark Twain One common feature to humanity is that we create our own narrative.  What's yours?