Kept in a jar or sung. How can memories help us survive hard times?

When it’s hard, pleasant memories can be a stepping stone, giving hope for a better time. Let’s collect good moments, sensations and experiences. Let them be our booster.

 

Family time
It’s worth writing about nice moments or painting them so that we can go back to them during hard time. (Cottonon / Pexels.com)
It’s worth writing about nice moments or painting them so that we can go back to them during hard time. (Cottonon / Pexels.com)

Try to recall your “little moments of happiness”. When was the last time you were satisfied? Was it because of something pleasant that happened to you? What was it that made you happy? What did you feel? Did you share this feeling with someone? When you recall this event, does it still make you happy? Share your experiences. Listen carefully to each other. Answer kindly to what you hear.  

A collection of good memories  

Prepare a bottle, jug or jar, small pieces of paper and crayons or something to write with. Write down or draw your best memories and collect them in the prepared container. There can be one for the whole family or several, one for each of you. Your memories may relate to family celebrations or holidays or things you like to do together every day. Keep the container for good memories open. You’ll always be able to add something.

Let’s take a look at our memories  

Remember what has happened to you recently that was important and that you would like to talk about. Sometimes these will be nice situations, ones that would make your collection and sometimes, unpleasant experiences. You can close your eyes to reflect quietly. Think about the last time something unpleasant happened to you. What did you feel? Did you feel dissatisfied? Sad? Angry? What was it all about? Did this situation last long? What did you do to turn it around? Now, when you recall this situation, does it still seem so difficult for you? It’s worth appreciating not only the moments that we enjoyed, but also those that were difficult, but we managed to deal with them. It strengthens us and shows that we can handle different situations.   

 

Let’s call grandma and grandpa  

Call your grandmother and grandfather or another senior member of your family. Older people can share with us their memories of times when we were not born yet. Did anything unusual happen in their childhood? What was the world like? What did they have at their disposal, that we also have today? How would they communicate with each other at a distance? What was their delicacy? How would they spend their time? For you, such a conversation will be an enriching experience, while for your loved ones, it’ll be a good distraction from the current strange reality.  

 

All source materials are prepared by the team of Kulczyk Foundation’s Education Department in cooperation with teachers and experts – pedagogists, psychologists and cultural experts – and verified by an experienced family therapist Kamila Becker. Kinga Kuszak, PhD, Professor of Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Educational Studies, provides content-related supervision over Kulczyk Foundation’s educational materials. All materials are covered by the content patronage of the Faculty of Educational Studies of Adam Mickiewicz University.

The article was published on 16.04.2020 on the website of Instytut Dobrego Życia (Good Life Institute)

Authors: Dorota Szkodzińska (Kulczyk Foundation) and Anna Woźniak (Instytut Dobrego Życia)