Only in Our Memories...

Only in our memories does one exists. I have gone years without seeing a loved one and then out of the blue I get a thought about them & remember them. The memory of what it was like to be with that person makes that moment real for me. Happy or sad emotions fill up inside me and I relive that memory. It is real for me all over again. So even if the person no longer exist - physically - consider that they exist in my memories.

We create our existance and experiences - and that energy lives only because we choose to have it live as a part of our memories. I believe that our energy never disappear - it only changes form.

So this came up because as I was thinking this, I turn on a Tivo recording of Star Trek NG. And the episode - by no coincidence - is of the death of Tasha Yar. Yeah! I know it's a fictional show but the message of the memorial service really impacted me. Tasha, at her memorial services, shows up as a hologram. As she addresses each crew member in the service she end by saying the following:

"Death is that state in which one exists only in the memory of others...
...which is why it is not an end. Just lots of good memories."

At the end of the service, Data seems puzzled & questions Capt. Picard about the gathering:

"The purpose of this gathering confuses me. My thoughts are not for Tasha, but for myself. I keep thinking how empty it would be without her presence. Did I miss the point, Captain?" To this Capt. Picard replies, "No Data - you got it."

Memorial service for Lt. Tasha Yar
Skin of Evil - Star Trek NG

My point is that no one (dead or alive) is really gone - lest we forget.