Bucket lists are by nature concerned with the future which hopefully sooner rather than later will turn into a great present moment. What gets left out is the past which might be a good thing. However savouring the beautiful, quiet, crazy, great and sometimes even the banal can lead to many fuzzy feelings, grins and laughs. When something funny, cool or impressive happens we often think that we will remember but often that is not the case. Furthermore our brains actively trick us into believing we haven't forgotten but only with some sort of reference do we realize how faulty our memory actually is.
Now as journal writer I am not very objective but I still think it is true when I say the following: physical objects are good memory triggers. Sometimes just looking at a favourite shirt or a ticket stub brings back memories however the effect is even bigger, if we made an actual effort to document something through writing, taking pictures, shooting a video or recording a little voice memo. It is however easy to forget the existence of these “memory-objects” just like the real memories, which are drowned out in daily life and the accumulation of new objects. Photobooks and journals are a great way to encourage reconnecting with a past moment. The nicer something is the more enticing it is. Aside from the myriad of positive emotions there's also a sensuality involved in handling physical objects as opposed to random photo files for example. In a day and age where we sit in front of the computer all the time it's great to retire to the sofa with an actual photobook or journal and feeling the pages. Yes it involves some work to document life in some form but the reward is the instantaneous feeling of creation and the splendid discovery that even the most banal instances, such as spilling orange juice can evoke loads of positive emotions, because it reminds you of happy times and because you feel a sense of owning your life.
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