What is it about memory that makes the worst look benign and the best look better? Why are things always so forgiving when we remember them? A cup of coffee, a night-out with friends, a trip with family, a conversation, a movie, a song - all of the events that seem mundane and commonplace today, but as they get pushed back further and further in time, a mist of yearning gathers around, gilding them till they start to glow. They seem like bright little lamps down a dark flowing stream.I came across this quote today :
"I cannot walk through the suburbs in the solitude of the night without thinking that the night pleases us because it suppresses idle details, just as our memory does." -Jorge Luis Borges
Thats what memory does. Etches the important lines deeper, blurs out the rest.
5 comments:
Lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel:
'And a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.'
I think all of this is based on the same premise. That we are the most important to us. Conciously or subconciously depends on the individual's propensity for self analysis. And we do whatever it takes to make life what we want it to be. If you want your memories to be a river of soft and sweet, then the mind works to blot out the hard and bitter.
Person to person it changes, there must be sticklers for logic and fact who make sure their memories are just fact. Like walking around with a flash light helmet thing walking down the same dark street in illumination.
What do you consider a blessing? :)
I consider it to be the truth. As wonderful as it would be to reiterate it into something more meaningful and nice, true meaning lies in truth. For me.
With a pinch of optimism though. The truth is too harsh at times. Im just as much of an emotion as i am a logic. And emotional people probably do this kind of thing more often.
Though thats all very macro. A more micro look at it would be...
We all love to have meaning. And association. With the passage of time, the human mind is justified in forgetting the bad and glorifying the good. The laws of the human body operate in a similar manner. We hear and see so much. It gets stored in our memories if it is useful. And gets erased if it isnt. Our brain makes sure to record both positive and negative though. But IF they are for the better good of the body.
What is the better good? (so much for a micro look at it, lol, this is the exact same thing as my last post).
Associations. Are helpful in operating. In doing a better job in general next time. Maybe we forget the negativity because we want to end up with a more positive outcome next time? Which is rather foolish now that i think about it. Hah. I can see how logic is very appealing. It seems to work better in science.
But then again, damn, im happy, you're happy. Who dare tell us which set of ideals is better huh? As long as we dont harm anyone else along being set adrift on memory bliss.
Caring about meaning. I admit i do. Some dont.
Hey theres this really really amazing TV show called Penn and Teller's BULLSHIT.
You should download and watch it if you get time. Amazing! You'll see the world in a new light.
It touches upon all these controversial issues, and commercial issues. Like love, day of judgement, religion, sex, creationism, alternative medicine, etc etc.
Penn and teller are these 2 magicians who've been in show biz for some 30 years. They have a fantastically meticulous team of researchers for EACH episode. To expose the BULL SHIT the media and the powers that be are always perpetuating on the innocent masses.
They never pass judgement. They just show you flip sides of each issue. The opinions of people who believe in differing views. Its just presented realllly well!
Very informative. And hilarious! Like fall of your chair, watch with freinds in pajamas kind of hilarious. How great that that is incorporated with learning so much about things you'd never have thought of otherwise. All the outside the box notions.
In my posts i seem to have made the mistake of making 'good' synonymous with 'useful'. And the vice versa. Dayam! :P I guess thats what we emotional people do. Meaning in things that arent neccessarily quite so meaningful. Its so simple to think all good is useful beta. And all bad is not useful. I can hear some aunty's voice in my head. Lol. Atleast i still have enough logic to see thats what i did! What a good example of what Madhura is talking about in her post. It apparently doesnt just happen with memories. It happens with every action of ours.
-M
Wow - just too good a post! 'Simply' well-written..
Memory has always fascinated me, and that holds true for most people, I guess.
To me, the things we remember, are those we want to remember; the memories of fond ones are the ones we want to ever-retain. Just as the anticipation of something, at times, renders greater joy than the thing itself, in a similar manner, the memory of a wonderful experience helps us relive and enjoy it more than the experience itself.
Memories truly help etch the ever-so-interesting experiences deeper, which we want to cherish even more, since we think of them all too often.
But, as much as we'ed like to, we can't ever remember every one of them - and hence whenever such 'seemingly' mundane events come by - I say, savor them to the fullest, and maybe then they'ed stay etched in u'r memory deep enough :)
btw, really nice quote u have there - kinda one of those ones, where u've never thought about it consciously before, but feels soo true once u've read it :D
And since we are on it, the latest issue of NG has an interesting article on memory -
"In the archives of the brain, our lives linger or disappear":
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-11/memory/foer-text.html
Enjoy :)
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