A Minute to Remember

History is rife with

memorials to men, women

and moments.

Plaques, stone monoliths,

statues, and buildings.

Memorials meant to remind,

honor and to cherish those

that weathered, braved, conquered,

or defied. Memorials to great people,

places and events.

Built for love like the Taj Mahal,

or built for death like the Great

Pyramids, built for honor like

the Vietnam Wall or built for

prestige like the Coliseum of Rome.

There are memorials of the spirit

as well, which are less monumental

in scope but no less worthy of remembrance.

People without monuments, plaques or

statues. People we have loved.

With only a faded or fading memory

of the sound of their laughter, their smile,

the touch of their hand or the love in their

eyes. They have the indomitable monuments

of our memory.

The history of the world may not have

been immensely changed by them, but

they are to be remembered for what they

did, and not how they should or could be

memorialized in stone or steel.

It’s all part of the same human memory,

the collective remembrance of sacrifice,

of hope against all hopes, of waking up one

day and saying, “I’m going to do it,” and

getting it done.

For the sake of family or friends,

just because someone had to do it,

because no one else would, because there’s

dignity and bravery in all our actions when we

choose to do good, to do right.

History may be rife with the towering

memorials to our past, but the true

memorial is us. To go on and pass down

the love, the kindnesses, the passions

of those that went before.

We need to take from those stone memorials

the lessons that were learned and admire

them not because they are architecturally

impressive but because of the accomplishments

they represent.  

A toast to a friend, a teacher, a lover, a mother or father,

with a glass of beer, wine, water or

pop can be just as monumental as the historical

landmarks we see almost daily, dotted along

our landscape.  It’s Memory that is important in Memorial.