'Know then that there is nothing more lofty, nor more powerful, nor more healthy nor more useful later on in life than some good memory, and particularly one that has been borne from childhood, from one's parents' home. Much is said to you about your education, but a beautiful sacred memory like that, one preserved from childhood, is possibly the very best education of all...and if only one good memory remains within our hearts, then even it may serve some day for our salvation.'
Alyosha, a character in Dostoyevsky's 'Brothers Karamazov', made this speech to a group of youngsters after the burial of their friend Ilyushechka.
In the context of the book, the reference to a good memory is not simply a great Christmas or an especially generous gift, it more specifically refers to a time where you did something good completely off your own back. This point is very important as I am not trying to promote wealth as a surefire way of raising kids.
I truly believe that the fundamental good things like love, compassion, grace, etc are not taught (although it flourishes in accommodating environments), rather they are innate characteristics. This may be a stretch but I wonder if the utilisation of one of these innate characteristics is the only method of establishing true independence as it is the only thing we haven't been explicitly taught. And maybe experiencing this true independence stores away this memory so that in the future when things get tough, you can always look back and say "yes, I was good that day, bold and honest". Sometimes just the knowledge that at one point you were good, gives you the motivation to resist evil.
