Our lives are an expression of all the events lived. From the moment we are conceived, events encountered store their dynamics away in drawers we call memories. Throughout our lives, we may choose to take out a drawer and revisit the memory stored there for safekeeping. We may also find ourselves revisiting memories, either by choice, or not, through a drawer opening of its own accord. Then there are those memories locked away in drawers that seem to have lost their key!
Connected to the drawers of our memories are the bodies we inhabit. Together, bodies team up with memories to create the life outcomes we experience. And this is where memories have the appointed opportunity to design a life filled with fun, laughter, and frivolity, OR, one characterised by challenges given names depicting a life of misfortune perhaps underlined by deteriortaing health outcomes.
My experience has shown me that where drawers are willingly and easily accessed, content is recalled with a smile and relaxed body. Should a drawer suddenly thrust itself open, perhaps brought about by a similar event currently being encountered, the response may tip the person into one of two directions. A smile and associated bodily sense of glee may transpire, or, tears and the desire to hide may see the drawer owner left puzzled. Then there are those pesky drawers determined to remain keyless! These are the ones that unknowingly impact its owner. Hidden away they have the power to dictate the dialogue, behaviour, emotions, and physical body – we just don’t know it. These are the drawers influencing how one filters and relates to the world on a daily basis. These are the drawers that quietly work in the background, pulling the body around, until one day, experienced through a downfall, possibly a health infliction, the body folds. Annoyed, we collapse and call out, “Why?” Initially, we most likely do not understand what is really happening. When answers arrive, and where we are ready to really listen, we learn that the fall from grace is a precisely timed outcome resulting from the keyless memories and body conspiring together to bring recovery into vogue.
Life has also demonstrated to me that where health is challenged, the importance of taking the time to assess the tears and desire to hide is the very reason the drawer willing opened to share its story – after all, it is your story. It is the words contained within this drawer that provide clues for restoration. Knowing you are struggling with your health, your body utilises its liason with your memory drawers to bring forward the one most useful for the task of recovery in that particular moment.
Regrading those pesky keyless drawers, they are the ones requiring a hammer! Where mental health challenges are filled with the frustration of never ending searching, it is those locked drawers which hold the answers. We need to respect their decision to remain locked – they are wishing to protect. However, once we understand that the contents they hold are the very contents we must access, their stubbornness requires a hefty hand, coupled with a determined willingness from you to overturn the original decision to protect at all cost.
The task at hand to unbolt is certainly not an easy one; I know. But once you decide to pick up your hammer, the most wonderful outcome can be achieved. The tightly locked drawer begins to have a change of heart. Gradually, orderly, and only when you are ready, the prising of the lock allows embedded information to find its way to you. And this is where we discover just how clever locked drawers of memories are. In deciding to remain keyless, they do so understanding that the day may arrive where the protection afforded needs now to be matched with caring, slow unlocking, so the one protected may gradually find their way back to health.
Our goal for life is to create as many memories filled with fun, laughter, and frivolity, so the drawers they occupy will support a body characterised by health, happiness, and thriving. Reality tells us, however, that achieving this outcome maybe a little ‘pie in the sky’! So where memories created end up being stored in drawers lined with negative impact, do know that the time may arrive where the contents need to be aired, re-arranged, re-assembled, re-categorised, and tucked away in a whole new way where they are now able to contribute to a life of incredible joy.
The drawers of our memories shape us – whether the shape is whole or warped, rest assured that each has a purpose as your life unfolds. As the contents show themselves, look for the purpose. Ask those important questions. Be ready for the answers. Explore, identify, assess, reframe – then return the memory to the relevant drawer. Give thanks for the sharing. Some will return unchanged, some will be tweaked and others completely refashioned. Acknowledge these alterations through how you now feel and experience life.
In understanding ‘the drawers of our memories‘, life becomes an interesting series of unfolding events lined with the important purpose of supporting you in living a life filled with fun, laughter, and frivolity.
Afterall, this is what life is all about!