Editorial May 30, 1983 Issue

A day immemorial

CAROLYN B. SWAN

The United States of America originally designated Memorial Day to honor its war dead. Many countries have similar observances, and many individuals have broadened these occasions to include special remembrances of family members who have passed on.

If such an observance brings sad memories to us, perhaps we need to turn from commemoration of death to a clearer recognition of the reality of Life. This higher view can uplift our outlook in very practical ways. Acknowledging valor and the affection others have expressed to us can inspire us to be grateful for the good we have shared. Our renewed efforts to express courage and strength can show our gratitude for the battlefield sacrifices of soldiers known and unknown, in a way far more beneficial than wreaths. Our lovingkindness to others can show we have not forgotten those who have cared for us—and this is far more comforting to ourselves and others than weeping.

Best of all, however, is learning to understand God as uninterrupted good. This can lead us to see that Life itself is actually all good—Spirit—and therefore imperishable. Approached in this way, a memorial observance can awaken us spiritually to God's eternal day of perfect Life. This day immemorial reaches, according to a dictionary definition of "immemorial," "beyond the limits of memory, tradition, or recorded history."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Poem

"... the Lord is in this place ..."