The Memory of an Elephant

by Alex Lasker

The earth we walk upon has no memory of us; its only concern is the constancy of day into night, season after season, and the memory of any one of us is soon gone from the earth forever.

In almost every life there is a moment where a choice is made that changes everything from that point on, thought Amanda many years later. The road not taken, the courage to speak up or remain silent in the face of a bully, the career chosen or abandoned, the lover married or spurned—the decision and its effects are only apparent with time. And there is no way to go back and change it. For better or worse, a life’s course is set from that moment on.

When things are going well, embrace the days, because they never last for long. A dark wind is always waiting over the horizon, and it can come racing down the plains at any moment.