A Collection

You can learn a lot about people from their collections. Even the fact that a person has a particular collection can be a revelation in itself. I remember when I first found out that a childhood friend of mine collected Precious Moments china figurines. At first I was surprised, because I hadn’t met her that long ago and hadn’t pegged her as the kind of girl who would collect Precious Moments. But, as I got to know her better, I internalized this nugget of information and realized that her collection made perfect sense.

Although not all of us collect objects, there is something that everyone collects, whether we know it or not. I’m talking about memories. We may not think of ourselves as collecting memories when we choose to go to the ice cream parlor rather than the movie theater, to the concert rather than the baseball game, to the school play rather than the employee happy hour. But, when we make these decisions, we’re shaping our collection of memories and expressing ourselves through it: our values, our preferences, our dreams. Talking to someone about their memories is like being shown their collection, only the knowledge you receive goes deeper. When my friend told me about her Precious Moments collection, I gained insight into one aspect of her personality, but when someone shares their memories, they are sharing the things that shaped them into the person they are today.

My hope for all of us is that, at the end of our lives, we’ll look back on our collection of memories and smile at the beautiful arrangement before our minds. Even if our collection isn’t perfect, even if some of its pieces are ugly or broken, it will still be dear to us because it makes up the total of our lived experience. Let’s make this future scenario happen by planning for wonderful memories, while also remembering to respond to the gifts of the unexpected. Sometimes the most cherished pieces of our collections come to us out of nowhere, and all we have to do is keep our eyes open to see them!