Remembering

According to The Free Online Dictionary by Farlex, remembering is as follows:

re·mem·ber 

1. v. re·mem·bered, re·mem·ber·ing, re·mem·bers

a. To recall to the mind with effort; think of again: I finally remembered the address.
b. To recall or become aware of suddenly or spontaneously: Then I remembered that today is your birthday.
2. To retain in the memory: Remember your appointment.
3. To keep (someone) in mind as worthy of consideration or recognition.
4. To reward with a gift or tip.
5. To give greetings from: Remember me to your family.
6. Engineering To return to (an original shape or form) after being deformed or altered.
7. Electronics To carry out (a programmed or preset activity).
8. Archaic To remind.
v.intr. - To have or use the power of memory.

 

How easy is it to break it down into 8 different types of definitions when in reality remembering is not that easy at all.

·       It is not easy for a mother who has lost a child.

 

      ·       It is not easy for a spouse who has lost a spouse.

      ·       It is not easy for someone who has lost a dear friend.

And, while we all logically know, this is something we must get beyond, it is still not easy, especially since grief and mourning is different for each and every one of us.  But, what about those who we have lost that we don’t know. 

Do we grieve or mourn for them?

And, what about those in a foreign land that we have lost…

Do we grieve or mourn for them?

Can we or should we mourn or grieve for everyone?  Because, there are people, old and young, dying all the time in India, Pakistan, South Africa, and in South America either from poverty, starvation, disease, and who lack the basic necessities of life that we, as Americans, take for granted every day, as we mourn the loss of loved ones or those who died so needlessly by someone who was deranged or who did not share our same values.

Should we grieve and mourn for all those people outside our boarders and send them financial tributes of empathy when we cannot take care of our own or put our citizens at risk because we did not upgrade infrastructure like the bridge that recently collapsed?

·       Are these moral questions?

       ·       Are these ethical dilemmas?
       ·       Are they spiritual concerns?

And, am I asking the right questions here or is it simply one of values and more importantly how we value life as a human being and as a member of a species.  In our global society is it still possible to see life in a micro way or have we been forced into macro as a default of globalization?  What an interesting conundrum to say the least…

Perhaps, we should consider the importance of death and how it thins out the herd so that the many can survive.  But, it is not simply a survival of the fittest mentality because we grieve and mourn over healthy brave souls every day, even though this is no doubt true in other part of the world.

Still…  I cannot help but think that we are all the sons and daughters of Abraham, regardless of what name one ascribes to that individual because DNA traces us all back to one source.  So, it is members of our families for which we should be grieving and mourning, instead of just the ones who are closest to us.