Remembrances of Things Past by Maria Grant

Lately I’ve been feeling sad remembering the special people in my life who no longer walk this earth. But then I also remembered the wonderful memories those special people left behind. It got me thinking about the importance of creating special moments and memories for the people we love. 

It’s also interesting that people you have never met—actors, singers, writers, civic leaders—can also provide special and delightful memories that you cherish forever–even long after they too have left the earth. Here are some delightful memories I cherish from people I never met. 

Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady. I saw this movie when I was quite young. I became obsessed with Harrison, especially with the song, Why Can’t a Woman be More Like a Man, which I thought was hilarious. 

Sidney Poitier in To Sir with Love

Jack Nicolson in Five Easy Pieces (best diner scene ever)  

Robert Redford in The Way We Were, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Great Gatsby

Paul Newman in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (or pretty much anything)

Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca

Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story

Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life

Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront

Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind

Omar Shariff in Funny Girl and Doctor Zhivago 

Betty Davis and Olivia de Havilland in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte

Frani Sinatra singing My Way and New York, New York

Bobby Darin singing Mack the Knife

Elvis singing Can’t Help Falling in Love

Michael Jackson and the rest of the gang singing We are the World

Kris Kristofferson singing Loving Her Was Easier than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again

Whitney Houston singing I Will Always Love You

John Lennon singing Imagine

Janis Joplin singing Piece of My Heart

Gordon Lightfoot singing If You Could Read My Mind

Sam Cooke singing A Change is Gonna Come

Jimmy Buffett singing Margaritaville 

Edith Piaf singing La Vie en Rose

Leonard Cohen singing Hallelujah

Otis Redding singing Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

The National Symphony Orchestra playing Beethoven’s No. 9

Martin Luther King giving his I Have a Dream speech

JFK giving his Inaugural It’s Not What Your Country Can Do for You speech

Authors that created magical memories are too numerous to mention but include Fitzgerald, Hemmingway, Faulkner, Austen, Proust, Flaubert, Parker, Woolf, Bellow, and, of course, Shakespeare. Poets include Auden, Eliot, Dickenson, Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge. I am grateful for so many magical hours I have passed thanks to them. 

So, what’s the best way to create cherished memories for regular people who are not famous actors, musicians, writers, poets, or civic leaders?  Here is some advice from the experts. 

Try new things. Travel somewhere you’ve never been before. Experiment. Cook a new dish. Take a dance class.  

Surround yourself with things that engage your senses—fragrant flowers, candles, freshly baked goods. 

Touch your surroundings—the trunk of an old tree, stones. Be attune to the sounds of the birds, water, and wind. 

Be in the moment. When you are present and savor current experiences, your memories will be stored in a safe vault.

Connect with others.  Remember these memories don’t always have to be big moments like weddings or births. They can be things like walking on the beach with your grandfather, or taking a hike with friends, Share emotions with friends—happiness, sadness, and more. 

Struggle, achieve, and celebrate. Sometimes when you struggle with a particular task, you end up with a win. For example, you may struggle to run in a marathon but end up completing the race. Celebrate your successes after those struggles. They will create memories for the ages. 

Let’s never forget that we have the power to create beautiful and meaningful memories for ourselves and the people we love.

Perhaps Barbara Striesand said it best when she sang, “So it’s the laughter, we will remember, whenever we remember, the way we were.”