Noticing and remembering everything would trap bright scenes to light and fill the blank and darkening past which was already piling up behind me. The growing size of that blank and ever-darkening past frightened me; it loomed beside me like a hole in the air and battened on scraps of my life I failed to claim. If one day I forgot to notice my life, and be damned grateful for it, the blank cave would suck me up entire.
In her work "An American Childhood," Annie Dillard expresses a profound concern about the importance of being aware and appreciative of one's life experiences. She illustrates this by suggesting that if one were to overlook moments of joy and beauty, the past – filled with darkness and emptiness – could overwhelm them. The act of remembering becomes a shield against this encroaching void, highlighting the significance of mindfulness in avoiding the...
