Memories – Acknowledge them, talk about them, write them down, draw them, paint them, record them – value them.
Memories are a gift – they enrich us. Just like other intangibles (hello feelings) they’re stored organically via twitching neurons on our biological hard drive and backed up every time we access them.
They’re often taken for granted, but can be powerful enough to invoke a tangible emotional state like the colour in this painting that influenced the name, ‘Outback Memories’. The person who inspired this said that she was transported back to another time in her life working in Alice Springs and Darwin. It was the beautiful red ochre colour and the whole Chilli Chocolate painting that reminded her of the ever changing days in the outback of Australia’s Northern Territory.
Sufferers of the many forms of dementia can lose memories as part of the mental function breakdown. Can you imagine the loss of your memories – the loss of that momentary time travel? Are you taking your memories, or another person’s, for granted?
According to the Alzheimer’s Australia National Website, ‘Dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses which cause a progressive decline in a person’s mental functioning.’ For further information or to talk to someone about dementia, please click here to visit the Alzheimer’s Australia website.
Click here to read someone else’s memories that have not been taken for granted.
Click here to view the whole Chilli Chocolate Painting.