Of old emails and memories

There comes a point where we have to unclutter or reorganise the things we have accumulated in our lives. Sometimes, we do it voluntarily; other times, we (have to) do it because our circumstances force us to.

Last night, as I started deleting old emails, some dating back to 2005, from my E-mail inbox, I found myself deliberating over the ones that hold much value to me. Eventually, I kept them in my inbox. Superfluous as it may seem for the content of these emails are either outdated or are already etched in my memory, I just needed to hold on to them.

And I figured it's probably the same for the things in our lives. Sometimes, we clear away physical stuff like an old pair of shoes or an old dress, a broken hair dryer or a torn table cloth. Other times, we clear away the immaterials like bad reminders of a nasty ex-colleague or an embarrassing blunder. However, sometimes we are reminded of that pair of shoes we have long worn out, or that dress we used to love before it got all shabby when we see someone else wear it, or if they're still selling in the shops.

That was then I thought it's probably the same for the intangibles. It's like this: Even though I may have tried hard to clear away an incident or a person I'd rather not be reminded of, somehow, the incident or person has mysteriously found itself a parking lot in an obscure corner in my mind and in the weirdest of times when I least expect it, will emerge.

Of course, no matter when I had cleared away an item or memory and no matter how much joy or sadness has been attached to it, somehow, it feels oddly comforting to remember that at least it had happened.