Rusty Raven

An interesting distinction. I think the idea of “historicity” ties in with a tendency to keep things that other people owned - like keeping all of the clothes that were in a parent’s cupboard when they died.

Sentimental items are also interesting, and I think it is worth worth exploring how sentiment and memories are also not inherent iin the object - the stories and memories are within us, and the object can act as a memory trigger but are not meaninful within themselves. What we often fail to examine is whether keeping a trigger for those memories is actually beneficial to us.

There is a limit to how much time we can spend re-living the past before it starts to detract from the present. An occasional afternoon trip down memory lane with a photo album is fine, but just like physical objects can overtake our space so there is no room for us to live our lives, memories can take over and stop us living in the present. It is a matter of balance. As an example, spending time remembering your children’s childhool and what it was like when they were a baby may be wonderful, but too much of that takes away the time you could spend fostering the relationship you have with them now. Taken to extremes you can destroy your current relationship with your children in pursuit of remembering the past. (I saw an episode of Hoarder’s once that had a woman who collected dolls to represent her children which she spent time with reminiscing about the past. She said she needed them because her children had moved away and had little contact with her, but her children were there trying to help and she turned her back on them to focus on the dolls and her memories. That is the extreme end result of too much “sentimental attachment” and focussing on memories of the past.)

The other thing to consider is whether keeping physical objects is the best way of keeping our memories alive. I would argue that the best way of holding on to our past is through our relationships with others. It might be through catching up with old friends and talking about the past with people who share your memories, or it might be through telling stories about your past with new friends and aquaintences. In doing this we both keep the past alive and strengthen the present - some of our stories may even be passed on further and live on in the future.

I doubt any parent dreams that when they pass on their children will keep every item of clothing in their wardrobe becaue of their “sentimental value”. But being remembered through passing on anecdotes about the fancy hat you wore to the races or the matching jumpers you made everyone wear at Christmas? I think that is something to wish for.