i don't remember
i don't remember what it's like not being able to ride a bike
i don't remember what it's like not being able to swim
i don't remember what it's like not knowing how to walk
i don't remember much from my trip to costa rica more than 10 years ago
i don't remember much about my grade 12 french class
i don't remember what i had for breakfast on september 23, 1982
i don't remember how i reacted when i heard my best friend from grade 5 died from leukemia
i don't remember what i thought the first time i heard the beatles
i don't remember learning how to talk
i don't remember the last time the leafs won the stanley cup
i don't remember the last time i went to church
i used to think our brains were like computer hard drives, and each new memory occupies a few brain cells. if this was the case, you'd think that there would be some finite number of memories we could store in our heads. and at some point in life, we'd fill our brains, so every new memory we create, we'd have to forget one from the distant past.
ah, i have such vivid, wonderful memories of the past... i don't want to create new memories in case i lose a memory that i want to hold onto...
but i don't think it works that way. i think it's more complex. i think each new memory creates new connections between various spots in our brains. i don't think we lose memories. forgetting something doesn't mean it's lost forever. we just need to re-establish the connections...
i do remember what i had for breakfast this morning
i do remember my first real kiss
i do remember being afraid of the water
i do remember my first new bike
i do remember my first concert
i do remember my best friend in grade 5
so how do we choose what we remember and what we don't? maybe our subconscious acts as this filter, so we don't have to think about 'issues' all the time. then we'd all be neurotic, over-self-analyzers.
and i wouldn't be the only one...
i don't remember what it's like not being able to swim
i don't remember what it's like not knowing how to walk
i don't remember much from my trip to costa rica more than 10 years ago
i don't remember much about my grade 12 french class
i don't remember what i had for breakfast on september 23, 1982
i don't remember how i reacted when i heard my best friend from grade 5 died from leukemia
i don't remember what i thought the first time i heard the beatles
i don't remember learning how to talk
i don't remember the last time the leafs won the stanley cup
i don't remember the last time i went to church
i used to think our brains were like computer hard drives, and each new memory occupies a few brain cells. if this was the case, you'd think that there would be some finite number of memories we could store in our heads. and at some point in life, we'd fill our brains, so every new memory we create, we'd have to forget one from the distant past.
ah, i have such vivid, wonderful memories of the past... i don't want to create new memories in case i lose a memory that i want to hold onto...
but i don't think it works that way. i think it's more complex. i think each new memory creates new connections between various spots in our brains. i don't think we lose memories. forgetting something doesn't mean it's lost forever. we just need to re-establish the connections...
i do remember what i had for breakfast this morning
i do remember my first real kiss
i do remember being afraid of the water
i do remember my first new bike
i do remember my first concert
i do remember my best friend in grade 5
so how do we choose what we remember and what we don't? maybe our subconscious acts as this filter, so we don't have to think about 'issues' all the time. then we'd all be neurotic, over-self-analyzers.
and i wouldn't be the only one...
posted by owen at 3:47 PM
2 Comments:
I wasn't even a year old yet on September 23, 1982. hehe.
The things in life that are important, truly important, we'll always remember. And memories that are sweet and possibly forgotten, are just tucked away into some other pocket of our being. At some point, it might filter back through the foggy haze of everything else that is in the now, and bring a smile to your lips, or tears to your eyes. It's not really lost, it has simply faded a bit.
Good post,
E
Sigh, it's amazing how our brains file things away to the "important" stack and the "not so important" stack. The things we feel that should be important seem to be the ones that fade. I wish I remembered more vividly my sons as babies, it's fading. I'm like, where did these past four years go? I've learned to cherish every moment in hopes that it will get filed into that "important" stack in my brain, and not in that cob-webbed corner we were talking about earlier.
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