The Art and Power of Remembering

5 Ideas for Deeper Remembering and Celebration in a Digital Age

Dec 05, 2025

The Spanish verb "recordar" (to remember) has its root in the Latin word "recordis" or “recordari”, which means "to pass back through the heart".

A few months ago, I had lunch with Ana Bianchi, author of Ana Loves Color and a remarkable artist who grew up in Mexico City (4 blocks from Frida Kahlo’s childhood home) before journeying around the world to study and make art.

Starting in Florence, Italy (then to over 40 countries by the age of 35), Ana traveled to understand the history, artistic expression, and crafts of different cultures — eventually incorporating these experiences into a multidimensional practice spanning watercolor, printmaking, ceramics, illustration, sculpture, graphic design, literature, and fashion.

Between bites of savory and sweet tamales, we talked about our upbringings, love affairs with language, writing, and also the poignance of memory — of recalling one’s childhood or recent past and returning back to a familiar place that may or may not feel familiar anymore…

At some point, she shared that “the Spanish word ‘recordar’ (meaning: to remember) is rooted in the Latin word ‘recordis’ meaning ‘to pass back through the heart’.”

Immediately after she shared the thought, I found myself savoring this new learning like a piece of rich dark chocolate.

Recordar (to remember) = “to pass back through the heart.”

There was just something about this anthropological connection that moved me.

And…that has stuck with me ever since.

The Serendipity of Remembering

“There are meaningful, life-changing moments happening in your life all the time. That dander in the wind will blow by you for the rest of your life unless you learn to see it, capture it, hold on to it, and find a way to keep it in your heart forever.”

- Mathew Dicks, author of “Storyworthy”

As I write to you from one of my usual spots — a family-owned Vietnamese café called Tay Tah (where I often order a hot tea and bagel to go along with my morning writing) — I am enamored by the memory of standing in line for bagels at my middle school lunch line.

…a sort of passing through the heart, I guess you could say...

The bagels were soft and warm — wrapped in single squares of parchment paper with rectangular hunks of cream cheese sandwiched between their bread-y halves (which threatened to melt white goo on the day’s outfit if one didn’t act fast).

Now, staring out the window of Tay Tah’s — I daydream as I take the last bites of my bagel breakfast.

That is…until a soft voice interrupts my thoughts.

An elderly customer in the cafe leans over: “You don’t see people reading books and magazines much these days…” — referring to the current issue of the San Francisco Magazine on my lap and a copy of “Magdalena: River of Dreams” by Wade Davis on the table in front of me.

Her friend, who is dressed in a full ski outfit, chimes in from behind dark winter sunglasses: “it’s true.”

I proceed to laugh and banter with these two ladies as thoughts of writing letters, flipping through photo albums, playing VHS tapes, carrying around disheveled paper planners, and books with ruthlessly dog-eared pages come to mind.

Sometimes, I think: “I am not made for this digital age.”

5 Ideas for Deeper Remembering in a Digital Age

This month, for my birthday, I gifted myself a photoshoot to honor and capture my essence and spirit in this current season of life: something I have never done before (but will absolutely do again).

2025 was big for me (and for Tomatokind), so I wanted to document this transformation before the memories and feelings of it fade into the indistinguishable past.

As do most things in life…

So, I did. And it was absolutely magical.

I worked with a dear creative colleague Gretchen Robards — beautiful human and brilliant photographer — and we had the most fun capturing my mind, body, & soul in all its optimism, liberation, and joy (the three words I chose to focus on in my photoshoot) on the coast of Albany, CA.

About photographer and dear friend Gretchen Robards.

Looking back on the photoshoot and the images it produced, I am reminded of the many internal milestones I experienced this year.

“Life is not always easy or beautiful and it’s certainly not perfect. But, photographs are worth it becuase people are worth it. Saying yes to love, to people, and to life is messy, beautiful, and so, so good. Let’s document that.”

- Gretchen Robards

So, in the spirit of this beautiful ritual, here are some ideas for you to consider as you reflect and honor this current version of YOU:

Write a letter to yourself (physical or email): Write to your future self. Tell them about how you are feeling today, what you are most proud of, what is going on in life, what your dreams are, and anything your future self might need to be reminded of. Hand-write this and stick it in a box labeled with a date you want it opened, or put it all in an email and schedule it to send in 1 month…maybe even in 6, 12, 24 months. Help your future self remember who you are today!
Make a yearbook and ask people in your life to sign it: Remember middle school and high school yearbooks? Whether your family had the means or interest to purchase them or not, yearbooks were something desired for its remembrance value — not necessarily for the bad photos and inspirational quotes, but for the vignettes from your friends, crushes, and teachers etched in Sharpie at the back. So, make one for yourself this year. Fill the book with print-outs of memories and pictures from the year, and ask those near and dear to you to write you a little love note on the back cover.
Gift yourself a professional photoshoot: Many of us do not have photos of ourselves we love very much — or that we feel capture how we feel on the inside. Professional photoshoots are often an outward ritual - wedding invites, holiday cards, etc. But, what if you invested the time, energy, and money into one that celebrated the life journey that you on, right now — irrespective of the time of year? You might just find that it is a beautiful way to recognize and honor the person you are today. Oh, and print the pictures —maybe even put them in the yearbook!
Write a letter to someone who has made a mark on you: So many people touch our lives everyday — whether that be remembering something a friend said years ago that helped you in a present moment or a loving conversation with a neighbor who always has your back. Skip the text and take the time to document the role they have played in your life in an old-school letter…so that they can hold that piece of your thoughts in their hands (a gesture that may mean a lot to them).
Throw a “weird” party: We have all been to gatherings that play by the same script: get there fashionably late (because who wants to be the first one?), bring a bottle of wine, chat around the hors d’oeuvre table, excuse yourself from an awkward group conversation to go to the bathroom (when you really don’t need to), and then eventually leave when the party winds down. This is not a memorable gathering. But, the incredible this is that we all have the ability to bring people together in memorable ways that celebrate, document, and deeply recognize the life that we are all living — in all its messiness, darkness, and glory. So, if you want to truly create moments to remember within your friend and family circles, dare to do things a little differently! Perhaps, at the end of the night, assemble folks around a fire pit where everyone is encouraged to write down their biggest fears on a piece of paper and then collectively burn it! The sky really is the limit here. (For a lot more on this topic, I recommend picking up a copy of “The Art of Gathering” by Priya Parker).

In closing, I hope you are moved to remember a little differently this year, and to invite an important moment…

to pass back through the heart…

again :)

Because, you (and everything around you) will never again be the way that it is…right now. And there is a huge honor and delight in documenting this very moment.

With zeal and gratitude for this creative life,

Vanessa