Digitalised Reminiscence

Being a senior is an incredible season of life. Every moment you experience, in which you are present, time stands still. One thus observes the world, of which we are a part, with a deeper and more reflective perspective. The approach changes radically in all our relationships and activities. That is why it is crucial to keep this in mind. Always. How? All we have to do is remember it.

But what exactly does it mean to remember? Above all. Why should we do so? To answer that, let us start by considering that, the memory of our past, is the fundamental element of intergenerational solidarity. Moreover, today, thanks to new technologies, our Seniors have the opportunity to revive the wisdom of their age by sharing their experiences. Tools such as social media, video channels and digital platforms, allow them to tell their story and leave an invaluable cultural heritage for the next generations. This is because, as the Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno argued and wrote, it is good to be aware that, the season of senility, in our existence, here, is not just an inevitable passage, but a moment of great value and dignity, all to be experienced.

The sharing of memory

This shadow, although not truth, nevertheless derives from truth and leads to truth; consequently, you must not believe that error is inherent in it, but that it is the hiding place of truth.

This is how the Nolan argued in his De umbris idearum, over 400 years ago, inviting us to reflect on the nature of our memory. It is not a mere reproduction of the past. It is a functional reworking that leads us to the truth.

Being a Senior today is therefore a unique opportunity of exponential value. First of all, recounting one's lived experiences has a therapeutic value. We have already written about it in our blog. Read it here. Secondly, because digital technologies, well used, allow us to shape and disseminate this truth. They do so through photos, written or video testimonies. In short. Sharing memory is not only a useful individual activity, but it also becomes a tool to foster intergenerational dialogue and thus shape the seasons, close to us, to our will.

The art of memory

The art of memory is an aptitude by which we are induced to understand, to discourse, to have memory, to form images through the faculties of the imagination, to have appetites, and sometimes even to feel as we wish.

Bruno emphasises in his Ars memoriae, Part One, Section: Memory and Imagination, how memory is not just a storehouse of memories but, an active capacity that fuels thought and imagination. Today, seniors can harness this ability to tell their stories in innovative ways. From personal blogs to social documentaries, from interviews with young people to the use of social networks. In an ever-changing world, where transition is the rule, it is digital memory that becomes the focus of an alliance between generations, also on an inter-regional level, offering younger people tools to understand the past and face the future with full self-awareness.

The Source of Innovation

The art of memory is that which feeds all other arts and equally opens the way and makes innumerable inventions accessible.

In the introduction to the second dialogue Cantus Circaeus, Bruno reiterates that memory is not just a disused warehouse, but an inexhaustible source of creativity and innovation. Today, more than ever, Seniors have the opportunity to make an essential contribution to progress through digital technologies. Their experiences, made accessible on networked platforms, represent a valuable legacy for new generations and a key element for the construction of a more conscious and supportive future.

Reminiscence from the infinite

Being a Senior today does not only mean being able to share a memory but, transforming memory into an active tool, useful for the growth of our communities. Thanks to digital technologies, the past is not destined to be lost in oblivion but, becomes today a resource for the future that will be. Remembrance, as Giordano Bruno teaches us, is an art that opens up new paths and Seniors have the power to bring it alive and share it with the entire planet and beyond. Indeed, remembrance is the return of the soul to its origin, to its true nature, where everything is known and nothing is forgotten. This very spiritual concept now finds a new dimension thanks to digital technologies. Being a senior now means having the unique opportunity to turn one's memories into a shared resource. Digital platforms allow us to preserve and transmit the memory of the past, not as a mere static archive, but as a bridge that can be crossed by several generations. Paraphrasing Bruno we can say that, memory is a shadow of reminiscence and reminiscence is the light that illuminates the past, the present and the future. Remembering, therefore, is today a viable path, thanks to which, naturally, past and future, generously meet. Through photos, videos, documents and stories, shared online, Seniors, as never before in our history, can contribute to generating a collective memory that enriches the present and inspires the future.

Today, this light is found in our ability to use digital technologies to make memory not only accessible, but also functional. Seniors, thanks to tools such as social networks, blogs and digital archives, can share experiences, values and lessons with younger generations, immersed in these tools. Sharing one's own history, in short, is not only an act of legitimate self-referential preservation but, a real movement of intergenerational solidarity. Through digital memory, young people can draw on the wisdom of the past to face the challenges of the future, generating an unexpected, transversal dialogue, in which eras, previously distant, connect, cancelling their timeframes, to experience them all here, today, in our present, now.

The future is born in remembrance

Bruno's quotes to do certainly do not end with this article. It is important to begin to understand from here that, reminiscence is not a simple memory but, a creative, transformative and rebirth act. Just as this month has always taught us, in which, 17 March 1600, marks the 425th anniversary of the burning at Campo de' Fiori, in ROME, of our thinker from Nola. His physical death, which occurred hundreds of years ago, does not, however, prevent us from bringing his ideas back here, today, sharing them, putting them at the heart of our future activities, in which Seniors have the opportunity to use digital technologies to transform their memories into tools for collective growth.

Telling one's story therefore means to inspire, educate and connect with an unconditional love, which Bruno discusses in one of his poems dedicated to this theme, precisely in De gli eroici furori written 440 years ago, and says:

I for the height of my object, from the vilest seal, become a god.

This is why memory is the engine for the future, fuelled by time past that has never been lost, but rather, reactivated and put back into circulation, today, giving it all the dignity it deserves, allowing us to build a tomorrow, together, truly, filled with the love we deserve. This is precisely the point of the History Is Us! project.

Reminiscence, as Giordano Bruno teaches us, is a process that goes beyond mere remembering. It is a return to the origins. There is a connection with the universal. Today, thanks to digital technologies, seniors have the unique opportunity to transform this reminiscence into an act of intergenerational solidarity, helping to build a more conscious and connected future.

The memory of the past is not only a treasure to be cherished but, a powerful tool to illuminate the path of future generations. Therefore. Write now to info@historyisus.eu if you too would like to help spread your light in digitalised reminiscence.