To Preserve Or Not To Preserve

To Preserve Or Not To Preserve

Of late, my wife has started to put these nice, handwritten notes on my lunch boxes that I really enjoy and adore. But a new challenge has come up with that: the dilemma of whether to throw them away or preserve them for eternity.

Not sure about eternity, but long enough maybe? At least photos?

Growing Up Without Keepsakes

Growing up, I have never been much of a “preserve” person myself—the lack of means possibly justified it. The lack of a camera (till the time I had my first mobile at 18 or so), or a lack of a collectibles habit, never sparked that instinct to preserve things for posterity.

But when the camera did arrive, I saw—and continue seeing—people taking videos and photos for the sake of revisiting that moment later on. Seemingly, I never got around to doing that. So I’m trying to delve into the reason behind that.

Mindfulness as a Memory Card

I think one reason has been mindfulness—the ability to live in the moment. That beach sunset in Mumbai, or the beautiful sight of the waves splashing in Tasmania, or the midnight walk in London—all seem to be clearly etched in my memory.

I remember not only the visuals, but the sounds and the feelings that I felt at that point. Not only do I remember them, but I can retrieve them with ease, with the feeling of joy whenever I need it.

I am not sure if it’s my sharp (so far…) memory, or the mindfulness, or the fact that the mindfulness that led to the sharp memory resulted in this cache of sorts. But this seems to be the primary reason I don’t feel the need to preserve things.

On deeper introspection, I think it’s the mindfulness—clearly, a lot of other moments where I am not consciously pausing with a mental note of “THIS IS THE MOMENT” seem to be lost on me.

No Social Media, No Evidence

The second, equally apt, reason seems to be the lack of a social channel to share moments. I think the lack of need for validation—that I am indeed happy, enjoying vacations, etc.—has caused me to be completely off social media for photo posting. My current ones only include X and occasional LinkedIn, and that too for work.

So the need for sharing the moment is also not there anymore.

So, What Happens to the Notes?

I think I should be able to gladly throw away the notes, given I remember the feeling of that little chuckle they give me.

The question is: would she be okay with that?