Searching for memory...
I was at a really neat get together the other day. It was actually with some people that i have a somewhat deep connection with. Ok, let me admit that deep is actually not the right word (especially if they are reading), but they are definitely special to me. Two girls (well no surprise) that are Nigerian. Bata and Didi are two young ladies who i have spent some of my formative years with. When I was about 4 and until I was about 6, I spent many of my mornings and early afternoons with them and their great aunt. I do not fully remember the actual events that transpired while we were being babysat, but I do remember them vividly in my mind. Interestingly enough for my selective memory, I remember being picked up and dropped off by mom and enjoying when Bata and Didi were around, but I did not enjoy being dropped off when it was only the great aunt in the house. Those times were kind of crucial on a young 5 year old Zerennadi. However, the best thing about it was that when they did come, we enjoyed our company soo much. Even with the fights and crying, when we played together and laughed many a time. I cannot remember specifically the events which transpired with them, which is just soo funny to me. I cannot fathom why the human brain functions in such an invariable way. Why is it that we remember distinct events soo sharply, but we cannot remember the duration nor the actual before, and after of those events? Why is our brain so sparce that it can only retain a certain amount of information in terms of memory from a certain time frame?
I thought about this a little bit and within that postulation, I came up with another thought. Imagine that our memory is similar to ice cream at an ice cream shop (just follow me). What if, we basically scoop out memory whenever we think about a past experience. Now we take that scoop, put it in a cone or cup, enjoy its deliciousness as it graces our tastebuds and enthralls our senses. Once we finish our cone or our cup, the ice cream is gone far along our digestive track, and we are not going to get it the same (if we really wanna push this, it comes out all distorted and stinky, if you know what I mean). Now once all the ice cream is scooped up, you have to buy some more, or to make this analogous to the metaphor, one has to have more experiences to fill up the memory banks. What if, that is what we do metaphorically to memory? Can we harness or continue to replenish our memory and keep it from getting distorted? I doubt it. But if we can, it would be the best thing in the world. But Its acually for the best. Most people who have had wonderful experiences in their past would just try and relive that everyday instead of trying to find a new more vivid experience which would enrich their lives that much more. It is an interesting dilemna. I wanna remember the old Bata and Didi, but i also LOVE the NEW Bata and Didi. We'll see what our lives do in the future, but our past experiences make things just much better to think about.
I thought about this a little bit and within that postulation, I came up with another thought. Imagine that our memory is similar to ice cream at an ice cream shop (just follow me). What if, we basically scoop out memory whenever we think about a past experience. Now we take that scoop, put it in a cone or cup, enjoy its deliciousness as it graces our tastebuds and enthralls our senses. Once we finish our cone or our cup, the ice cream is gone far along our digestive track, and we are not going to get it the same (if we really wanna push this, it comes out all distorted and stinky, if you know what I mean). Now once all the ice cream is scooped up, you have to buy some more, or to make this analogous to the metaphor, one has to have more experiences to fill up the memory banks. What if, that is what we do metaphorically to memory? Can we harness or continue to replenish our memory and keep it from getting distorted? I doubt it. But if we can, it would be the best thing in the world. But Its acually for the best. Most people who have had wonderful experiences in their past would just try and relive that everyday instead of trying to find a new more vivid experience which would enrich their lives that much more. It is an interesting dilemna. I wanna remember the old Bata and Didi, but i also LOVE the NEW Bata and Didi. We'll see what our lives do in the future, but our past experiences make things just much better to think about.