Today I discovered that Québec’s motto is Je Me Souviens, or, I Remember. Funny that I was remembering that beautiful city, which I’ve had the great fortune to visit twice, and the last time was exactly a year ago, to the day.
I remember its magnificent buildings, churches, monasteries, museums, history, food and friendly people. Time to plan another visit. It is closer to where I live than going to New York City!
Memories can play tricks on one’s mind. Some of the many sweet things I remember nowadays remain warm and pleasant and charming and fun or bittersweet, because time flies. But every now and then, there are sweet memories that pop up and are tainted by the realization that I might have been under a delusion. My conundrum: would I have been better off knowing that I was under a delusion? Or would it have been better to know the harsh realities right then and there? I don’t know.
I once returned to the Bahamas, to a place that had been idyllic and gorgeous in every sense of the words. But, between the memories and the reality of the return, the place had deteriorated to an ugly and disaster-ridden spot. It was totally depressing to accept that sometimes, you are better off not going back!
The same is true with memories of people. An old friend who had been a cherished friend, turned out to be deranged. Many years had gone by since we had last seen each other, but the reunion was special and it seemed we were continuing where we had left off. However, within a few days, the ugly truth became quite apparent, and the heartache and sadness were too much to bear.
Such is life, I guess. My parents would say, time to read Balzac’s The Human Comedy. Or go listen to Pavarotti and laugh!
Dum Spiro Spero 