A word of praise to Hashem....
Think of the miracle of MEMORY. EVERYTHING we do is from memory. We remember how we got dressed in the past and that enables us to get dressed again in the present. We remember words - what they mean, how to pronounce them, how to use them in context etc. so we can speak, read and write with veritable ease. How many words do we have stored up there? WOW!!
We remember to look both ways before crossing. We remember how to drive. We remember to kiss our mother and say "have a nice day" to the black lady behind the cash register and not the opposite.
We remember where to place our food [in mouth and not in armpit], how each food tastes, to chew and then swallow, not to eat aluminum foil etc. etc.
Like I said - EVERYTHING we do is from memory. Some people lose their memories to varying degrees and there is no English word [that I remember...] to characterize them as well as the Yiddish word - "NE-BUCH!!!"
But there is also the gift of forgetting. We never forget completely because everything we ever experience is stored up there somewhere [מה רבו מעשיך השם!!!] but memories FADE. This is CRITICAL!!
Let me give you a f'rinstence. Recently something happened that caused me great anguish. I wasn't myself. I found it hard to concentrate on ANYTHING other than my sorrow. I thought to myself - Is this ever going to end?? Then I "remembered". A LOT of things have happened in my life [and yours] that caused me sorrow and every last one has been banished to the deeper recesses of my memory and subconscious, thereby enabling me to function.
Because here's the "thing" - If EVERY painful moment of your life was experienced with the same freshness every second of your life - the entire world would be one huge insane asylum. It would be IMPOSSIBLE. People would be walking around as if every second they JUST heard that all four of their grandparents died, both parents died, they were dumped by three different girls they were absolutely infatuated with, they were rejected from a job they really wanted, etc, etc, The only way we can function is because our tzaros are spread around and we forget them little by little.
So I told myself "Self, hold on. Just like EVERY OTHER distress in your life faded over time, from missing the bus to something really huge like the Mets losing 6 games in a row - so will this. And of course - גם זו לטובה!!!!"
So thank you Hashem for memory and thank you Hashem for forgetting!!!
