a dialogue with the past....very poetic, @slowwalker.

Incorporating the past into the present is the best way of honouring our roots - it's what every human being does - organically assimilating past experiences into our present narrative.

I used to draw a number line on the chalk board to illustrate to my students that we are 99.4% Past. We live out of the suitcase of the past.

Imagine if we lost our personal memory - not only would we lose our identity, we couldn't even do up our shoe laces or find our way home.

As Pasternak once wrote, "In me are people without names--stay-at homes, children, lovers --I am conquered by them all and that is my only victory."