We live in an ever changing world, on an increasingly changing, and sometimes frighteningly shifting, planet.
Often the needs of the present force us to stay out of the past. But days like Memorial Day remind us to seek the value of remembrance. Sometimes we criticize each other for peering too long at the past.
Ritual and remembrance, however, fill a vital role in the health of society and its citizens.
We need a firm grasp on the past, to really understand the origins of our families, culture and society and the ideologies that drive them if we are to have steady footing on the path that lies ahead of us.
Memorials, monuments, reenactments and other forms of remembrance offer a chance for people who would otherwise never connect to join together and relate their individual experiences on a collective level.
We cannot bring back the dead or turn back time. Memorials, though, offer us a chance to share with others our memories, and the energy, of the people, things and ideas that have passed. We need them in order to honor heroes and rescuers, healers and fighters, to let others know that they were in our lives.
How we choose to remember past events and what symbols and icons we use to commemorate those that have influenced our lives help a society move forward from trauma and loss.
But for some, they also serve as painful reminders of past mistakes and the traumas of loss.
Memorials can also be divisive and promote resentment because there will never be one hundred percent consensus about what started a conflict in the first place, what constitutes a loss or whose pain is more important.
Memorials can be perceived as either comfort and validation for mourning or depressing reminders of human failings and guilt. It all depends on the experiential, emotional and energy state of the individual who is observing it.
The
Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the
9/11 Memorial are two prime examples of how monuments can stir up mixed emotions. Yet it would be unthinkable not to give public and permanent acknowledgement to either of these major world-changing events.
Each Memorial Day, it can be difficult to find the middle ground of this emotional dilemma.
Memorials communicate far more meaning than the design on a flag or words engraved on a granite slab would convey. They denote an entire galaxy of meanings, experience, energy imprints, symbols, emotions, memories and narratives.
In this way, no two visits to a memorial are alike. Memorials, though designed to speak to a group conscious, are, by their very nature, individual experiences. But they do offer every person the same opportunity for self reflection, which is the first step toward
realizing our human potential.
Ilchi Lee says that, with self reflection, a new spiritual culture can be born.
When, whether out of
remorse or terrible sadness, we look inward and reflect upon our actions, we can begin to heal the wounds left by tragic or avoidable events.
The more we can examine the past with courage, honesty and self determination the more we can come together as a human family who serves the interests of the whole planet.
Happy Memorial Day and many LifeParticles to all of you in our ChangeYourEnergy.com family. May you create many good memories this holiday!