“Memory is the diary we all carry about with us.” – Oscar Wilde

This morning I walked into a coffee shop and I heard the voice of Ray LaMontagne.  He was singing “Hold You In My Arms”.  That sound hit me in the face and AL immediately came to mind.

A couple of weeks ago I would been sad, cry, and probably leave the shop without buying anything.

But not today.  I stopped and took in the moment.  I paused realizing the beauty of memories.  How blessed we are to have them!  As the memories awash over me I feel everything is exactly as it is supposed to be.

There is no sadness and no longer doubt when I think of him.  He was a friend, he is still, in a way, but he no longer plays a role in my life. He is in the past.  He is the past.

Prior to meeting AL I had never heard of Ray LaMontagne.  Of course I had seen the Travelers Insurance commercial (the one with the dog and the bone with the song “Trouble”) but I thought that was a just a commercial jingle and not an actual song.

One evening AL mentioned his name and we checked it online and it was the first time I heard him singing anything other than “Trouble”.

As faith would have, weeks later I found out he was playing a concert not far from my home and I surprised AL with tickets. We had an amazing time.

Memories such as these makes me think of all the marks everyone leaves on our lives.  Everyone leaves something of them behind. Perhaps they introduce us to new interests, or they present us with challenges and new opportunities.   Sometimes they come to teach us a valuable lesson.   They makes us think, laugh, love and sometimes cry.  And always they leave memories, good and bad.

Oftentimes we don’t want people to leave.  We don’t want things to change.  But the only way we grow and become who we are really meant to be is with changes, with discomfort.  Allowing people to come and go when it is time is part of accepting our future..

Not everyone is meant to stay.  We need to allow the wrong people, the people that perhaps felt right at one point but that no longer is nourishing our souls to leave to make room for the right ones to come.

AL left a lot of memories that I will cherish forever or until I remember, as memories do fade with time.  Whenever they come to the surface I send him good thoughts and wishes.  It is my sincerest wish that he is happy but I don’t need to know about it.

And since I am on Al’s memory lane, here is another song that never fails to bring him to mind.  He sang to me one night.  Well it was not really to me, but it was only he and I and he was singing.  I think that counts 😉

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.  From an Irish headstone”  – Richard Puz