Ghosts

Ghosts are real. By almost any standard, ghosts could be defined as a spirit, entity or presence that you can feel… but isn’t actually there. So when you look at it from that point of view… there is no arguing that ghosts are real.

Ghosts don’t necessarily have to be a supernatural phenomenon. A presence of something that isn’t really there… well those are memories. Take a moment and reflect on your life. Go back a year or two… or even five or twenty years. Who was in your life then? Are they still here? How often do you hear a song or go someplace where the memories seem to flood your very soul with emotion. Those are the ghosts I believe in.

I often wonder if everyone has these sentimental feelings. I can’t begin to tell you the emotional conflicts I have when someone passes. For months and even years, I have thoughts run through my mind. Thoughts like, “The last time I ate here” or “The last time I did this I was with…” Sometimes, I will actually avoid a restaurant or a vacation spot. It’s my way of protecting the ghosts. Just talking about this makes me question my sanity, although I mostly chalk it up to my deep sensitivity.

All our lives we have heard there a good spirits and bad spirits. Memories are no different. Humans are built to hold memories. It’s in our DNA… our very genetics. Even things we wish we could forget, somehow remain engraved in our psyche.

But where would we be without these ghosts? Wouldn’t we be robotic drones… void of emotion? Would you be willing to make that trade? I wouldn’t. Every fiber of me is built upon the ghosts of my past. That I’m not willing to trade… I’ll take the pain that comes with it. I am tragically… and yes… gloriously haunted. I think we all are.