Ten Mementos on Our Desk: Remembering Moments: Biographic Book of Tens, #5

By Michael A. Susko

This work invites us to enter the world of mementos, as to their significance and  hidden meaning. By way of example, the author describes ten mementos from his own desk. His "first reflections" describe the object and the immediate story behind them. In his "second reflections," the author ventures into the philosophic and metaphysical domains to consider each memento's meaning. The ordinary world of mementos may not give us much pause  during the course of the day. Yet they are in front of us and telling us something important about ourselves and our lives You are invited to take a journey into this world of mimentos, so you may begin to explore the meaning of yours, and discover what is being said to you. 

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: AllrOneofUs Publishing
• Release date: Apr 13, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224167135

Michael A. Susko

The author, an independent scholar, has degrees in Philosophy and Counseling Psychology. For many years, he taught a college course on Indigenous symbolism with an emphasis on imagery found on stone and in the landscape. Having experienced gifts from the Indigenous related to sites that Native Americans inhabited, and having studied their narratives, he offers this work.

Book preview

Ten Mementos on Our Desk:

Moments of Remembering

Michael A. Susko

AllrOneofUs Publishing

Baltimore, MD & Huntsville, AL

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

TEN MEMENTOS ON OUR DESK: REMEMBERING MOMENTS

First edition. April 13, 2024.

Copyright © 2024 Michael A. Susko.

ISBN: 979-8224167135

Written by Michael A. Susko.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Introduction

Sign up for Michael A. Susko's Mailing List

Further Reading: Ten Times We Almost Died

Also By Michael A. Susko

About the Author

About the Publisher

To our friends who have gifted us with mementos.

Introduction

What is a memento? Why have we collected certain things and put somewhere where they can be in front of us? We have them there, but we may not have wondered at length about them. Is their placement more incidental and  decorative, or do they tell us something more?

I begin by posing questions after briefly surveying the things I have present. I note that I have had other more beautiful things, but they have tended to become lost or be given away. They disappear for some reason. What is left are things more seemingly plain. Yet they are there. They have survived.

The title uses Our Desk, for having mementos are not unique to me. This meditation is an invitation for others to wonder about theirs. I note that the placement of mementos may not be on one’s desk, like the ones I am considering,  of which a few are nearby on shelves. A memento may be put away in a box, which people view from time to time. However, I usually think of mementos as typically displayed.

We return to the original question as to the meaning of memento. It is an object that has a certain attraction for us. They could have been gifted by a friend. There is often some exotic quality or something unusual, such as coming from a faraway place. They are a way to bring close to that which is faraway and has a personal association. We are sentimental beings, and mementos arouse sentiment within us. Even before I have begun a fuller meditation, I venture to suggest there is an air of mystery about each object, and something yet undiscovered.

I have an interest in conceptualizing reality with energetic fields. We can envision an energetic field around a memento, which overlaps and has a resonance within our being. It can be said to