Books like Chicken Soup For The Soul and magazines like Reader’s Digest and Guideposts are filled with stories about what people went through, what the experienced as they were going through the situation, how they overcame any obstacles and are now better for going through the situation.

What are some of your core values, core talents and life experiences you can share with others? Jot them down and as soon as you can get to your writing tools begin to outline the sequence of steps and start writing about the process of getting through the situation. Fill in all of the details so your reader can follow your steps (or recipe). People all over the world are looking for solutions and shortcuts. Share yours.

In a few days it will be Valentine’s Day.  Typically that is more of a day to share with written remembrances but recently as I moved and sorted through boxes I found notes from my mother who has passed away and it was really special to go through those notes and remember what was going on during the time she wrote the note to me. What a great way to connect with her memory.

Think about those special communications you have received over your life and maybe even write a short story sharing your thoughts about what you got.  You can tuck it away or you can share with others. 

 A very popular movie that I see being shown on television is The Notebook which is about love letters written that the man now shares (by reading) with his wife who has Alzheimer’s and is having trouble remembering sometimes even her husband.

How can you brighten someone elses day?

“What we believe about ourselves is determined by what we remember about our pasts.”  Daniel L Schacter

You can improve your memory by writing in each of the areas of memory.  There are 3 types:

1. abstract ideas

2. general memories which are your knowledge or know-how

3. autobiographical memories which are those memories that form as a result of our experiences, a story about us or about us in the world.  Those slices of our lives and the stories that makeup our core personalities.

Improving your memory is just another great reason to write your stories and sharing with others just adds to the fun.

You could break down the categories into EX: travel, friends, events, experiences shopping or any others that apply to you.  You might even consider including all of the holiday events and happenings and putting them into a book for yourself or your family as a keepsake.

Everytime you remember a special event when you have not recorded the details you might leave out important facts about what happened.  I know most of you have good memories but when you try to remember everything about everything sometimes things get jumbled and left out. The diary concept was a good idea that you can start using again.

Then you can give your story collection to the different members of your family as gifts.  Each person has a different opinion about the events that happened so be sure to add each perspective. That will give your stories depth and add to the story line.  Have fun, enjoy your events and make lots of memories. It is easy to do when you are recording what is happening as it happens.

Think about what happens in your family and who is the one who remembers the most stories of family events.  It can be fun to contact that person and get up to date on what the family has been through over the years.  Those stories can be written down and given to other family members at your next event and are priceless treasures.

My grandfather grew up in the horse and buggy days in the United States of America.  In his lifetime he saw the invention of the automobile and the first trip to the moon.  That is quite a span of events and technology. My he had stories that he shared about how the changes he saw in his lifetime  impacted him and his choices he made in  every area of his life. 

Because in my family they were family shared stories and kept informally we never wrote them down.  Now it would be something that could be used for some very interesting stories that many others could enjoy.

Using that as your theme,  even you men, can write stories about what you remember the ladies in your family doing to keep family traditions in place,  to help us all remember what was important to our families and our local communities.  Even in the organizations we belonged to or now belong to there was a historian that kept track of the events on a yearly basis.

You can always celebrate the past in the present by noticing the stories and the happenings of the family and friends around you.

Occasionally, someone will remember something that is embarassing to you.  They seem to enjoy bringing those stories up when they know you would rather not have that time shared to the group.  You can change what was remembered by gathering the same story from other members and rewriting the details of the embarassing story by the addition of the new information.  Over time the new story will be remembered and the old one will fade from family memory.

Have the time you spend together recorded to share at a later date so your time together will continue to be one of joy and laughter in your sharing experience.  Memories can really add to your life.