Gone, not forgotten

You know, no matter who we are, what we do, no matter how busy we are, or think we are, the dead who have gone on before us are always with us. True, they may have preceded us heavenward, been cremated, buried, celebrated, memorialized, and honored with funerals, life-honored services, and public religious rites, but they will still always be there with us in our memories.

So, on occasion, when we finally decide to slow down from our hectic schedules, however real or imagined they may be, and when we free ourselves from our own vanity of self, we might just take an unencumbered moment to remember those who shared warm memories with us from our past.

Those bygone folks won’t mind how long it takes for us to wind down and find that time to sit a spell with them. After all, they’re more patient now and not going anywhere anytime soon. So, we owe ourselves the time to give ourselves the gift of memory and take a moment on occasion to just chill out with long-lost loved ones and enjoy some precious seconds as though time is standing still. We might just find ourselves enjoying a chuckle or two or maybe even a shared tear over a privately owned experience or remembrance. Or recollect a favorite snapshot taken or secrets shared only between the two of you.

And then again, we might discover that even a bit of belated forgiveness might be the proper ticket in the moment.

Who knows? If we’d take that special break to reminisce, we might just find those special words in our mind that we’d been searching for before when we’d been face to face. Yes, I know, too little, too late now. But, maybe, better late than never. You never know. When the time comes for us to be present in the quiet between you and the ones you miss, I still believe that in that closeness, communication is still possible.

So, how about you? Is it time you spared a moment for you and youknow-who?

TYLER THOMPSON Little Rock