Write It Down

We don’t have great memories. A pastor friend has called it a shared disability, that we so easily forget. Even on those rare occasions when we’re actually paying attention in the first place.

So if I was giving advice to my younger self, one thing would be to ‘write it down’. Because now I often don’t remember what I did, or what it felt like. Even a year ago, never mind 10 or 20 years. Where I went, who with. What I did and why. What were my hopes and dreams? Or even who I was working with (I have very few photos of work colleagues), or what tv I was watching, or how I managed to get anywhere prior to GPS.

Photos tell some of the story, even more so when they include location data. My few attempts at keeping a diary in my twentys and thirties failed because it was boring, mostly. But even the boring stuff can become interesting 20 or 30 years later. Any photos from my childhood home in the 70’s are fascinating now. The cars, the music system, the tv, the clothes.

Maybe it’s unimportant, maybe some of it is wanting to leave behind some memories as I see my mother lose many of hers through dementia. Many of her memories are lost now. Some are recorded in notes and small videos as we’ve occasionally recorded conversations. But some are gone and I’m sad I didn’t listen more, didn’t realize that those stories, her stories, wouldn’t last unless we did something about it.

So now I do. Write every day, pretty consistently for the last 6 years. I tag people and places in photos, and make a little note of the films I watch and the books I read. I have a little ‘life diary’ of any significant events each year. If the journaling gets boring then that’s just because I’m falling into the habit of just recording boring stuff. So I might just add a photo, or a thought, or a quote, or explore a few questions or ideas. Be awkward, honest, stupid, vulnerable, whatever seems relevant or important at the time.

When you’re 20 it can feel irrelevant and something to do later. But now’s the best time - it’s going to be great to remember better later.