The lived past is a story that has taken place over time, in many places, and involving countless others. The experiences gathered during living one's life are part of today as well as yesterday. Events of the present can be checked against the past, and events of the past contribute to the meanings assigned to present happenings. It would be an error to think that the past is simply memories stored in some old mental filing cabinet. Rather, the constant flow of happenings reinforces some past experiences and dilutes others.
Memory exists in the nostrils and the hands as well as in other body parts.
A fragrance drifts by and an old memory is evoked. My feet have not forgotten how to roller skate and my hands remember skills I was hardly aware I had learned. When these memories and past experiences involve sickness and medical care. They can stimulate fear or confidence, bodily symptoms, and even anguish. It damages people to rob them of their past, deny the truth of their memories, or mock their fears and worries.