In Memorial

It is not an easy thing to write in memory of someone. On Memorial Day makes it even harder, because no matter who I choose to write about, he or she will not live up to someone's standards of what this day is about. Why does it matter? Why should I remember?
The author of Hebrews takes the approach of a great stadium packed with those who have passed on from this life... and I am one of the contestants still on the field. Surrounded by the applause and cheers of these legends, I remember who they were to inspire me to be worthy of their support, their encouragement. The memory of the past interacts with present motivation to produce future results.
Psychology offers a host of other perspectives of why I remember. I remember, because those people made an impression on me and they live on through who I currently am because of that imprint. I remember, because memory is part of the human experience, a gift of cognition. Jung and Freud would add a spiritual dimension to the psychology and say that we remember because as part of the collective unconscious what happened to them is really our story too.
The characteristic of remembrance that reverberates in both the religion and the psychology is that I remember so that I may be. I don't remember my Grandpa Bader and his service to the Air Force to glorify the Air Force. I remember how he was a faithful father, loving grandfather, and hard working barber, in the hopes that when all is done, I will have lived up to his example.
I remember my Grandpa Taylor for his charisma, his humor, and his amazing card skills. (The man could stack a deck frozen cold and all observers would swear it was freshly shuffled.) The combination could have made him a con man card hustler of legend. Instead he worked hard his entire life as a carpenter to support his wife and children. Even into advanced ages, he was always eager to use his hands to make something for the benefit of others. The memory of his priorities and his choices continue to actively inform my own.
I remember... and with each memory, I am made ready for the journey ahead. The real fun, of course, starts if I'm found worthy to join that grand audience when my course is run.