Memento Mori (remember that you are mortal)

click here to buy


I spend a good portion of my time in the passenger seat of our car. I am not sure why because I do love to drive, but I guess perhaps I have unconsciously slipped into the traditional role (blech) of a wife and now JP does most of the driving. The real reason I suppose I have chosen this seat is the luxury I have of cataloguing our journeys through a photographer’s eye. Frequently my mind wanders as I process the scene around me.

It so happened this way yesterday on a drive back from Peterborough. I was melting in the wonder of a rare, gorgeous, warm January day when my gaze fell upon the miniature shrine that has taken shape in the small space located under the glove compartment. I know I had cleaned it out sometime during the last year since there was not a lot there, but I was also surprised to see how relatively uncluttered it had remained given my penchant for chaos. I began to think about the things that people collect along the path they take.

The butterfly I found in a Tim Horton’s parking lot on the way back from a camping trip to Lake Erie. The shell came from a beach on Lake Huron near Forest Ontario. The pennies came from who knows where, but obviously due to their location in the shrine THEY ARE NOT the same as the pennies that collect next to the gear shift. The rose came from JP’s aunt’s funeral that I meant to give to his mom but have forgotten to so far. The last addition was from this New Year’s Eve party where we did the bleigiessen so popular in Austria. My little melted lead piece came out looking like a human heart, indicating that I will open up and meet people, who will enrich my life. Interesting fortune for the year!

And so I clear out my memento mori with the fresh start of the year. The little shrine space is ready for the next adventure.