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It’s funny how sometimes the seemingly smallest things can trigger the strongest emotions.
It could be something simple, like that one of pair of pants that you wore to your first job interview. But now, when I see those pants, that's what I associate.
A sealed card you never got to give– but can’t bring yourself to open or throw out.
A stuffed animal.
A set of lingerie.
A certain book, and the well worn pages and annotations you made inside it.
A photo of you and friends that at the time seemed just for fun– but you now cherish.
A special broach.
A cheesy desk decoration your grandma gave you when you graduated from high school that is not at all your aesthetic.
A beret you bought in Paris with your mom.
A simple note that a close friend wrote you years ago.
The list could go on.
On their own, these things have no real significance. They are just materials. However, it is the memories and people that we grow to associate with these people that illicit these feelings. I find it interesting that these objects can become such significant manifestations of our deepest and truest emotions– whether they be positive or negative. Because, once we no longer have access to that person or moment, we have nowhere to put that energy and emotion but into the objects that bring us back to the moment.
Sometimes, this is good-- maybe even helpful and joyous. But sometimes, it's okay and even necessary to dissociate these physical things from those memories. Go back to that restaurant you won't eat at anymore with your friends and assign it a new, happy memory-- it's okay to take control. Embrace in those new happy moments-- and never forget the long nights spent laughing about Yak farms around the table with your closest friends.
