Staying with What is Life Worth?
The author, Kenneth Feinberg, writes that memories and faith were a type of “anodyne” that helped people move forward. What role do memory and faith play in helping us transcend awful events?
What if, in this context, memory is the act of fondly recalling a past moment, idea, event, or person? And what if faith is a form of hope? For the survivors of 9/11 perhaps recalling their loved one’s memory combined with their faith’s form of hope created a healing “closure” cocktail that allowed them to move forward.
What if we could use that formula in our own lives?
When you next lose a job, an idea, a project, a loved one, or a thing start by recalling what made that thing so special as if you were remember a loved one from the past. Then, think about what the hopes and dreams you had for that thing. Savor that moment of reflection and then, finally, move on.
What makes you special is your ability to combine past and future in the present and do something with it.