About Selecting Your Memories
Post 1082:
I heard two self-proclaimed experts arguing about something of great consequence the other day. I’m not a big fan of arguing myself but I like watching and listening on. I think that’s most likely the product of some level of weirdness on my part and we should talk about it. Oh well, leave it for another time…I guess.
SO these two experts are doing the clash of the nerdy titans when one says to the other, “You seem to have selective memory.”
He leaned back in his chair and let his legs sort of widen out in a total show of nerd dominance. My eyes dilated and ears erupted with blood due to this verbal smackdown. Chad nerd brought the thunder. This is almost in the neighborhood of saying you play ball like a girl. Obviously, that’s way worse. I’m saying this was close though.
Kidding……..of course I am. About the girl thing. Not the other thing. Okay, the other thing too.
Because when I got to mulling it over (I’m a big mull guy) it dawned on my all-too-dark mind. We all have selective memory. All the time. Always. Forever. So Mr. Widelegs with glasses too stylish for his pedestrian face in essence said nothing.
To clarify, if telling a person something about their nature that is endemic to all people everywhere, it’s not adding information. It’s saying nothing. It’s like telling a person they really breathe air a lot. Bloody useless.
I thought it was interesting though, because I’ve heard Selective Memory used as a pejorative on more than one occasion and always liked the way it sounded. It made sense. And it does make sense, if you’re choosing to ignore certain memories for the purpose of evasion or to strengthen your position. But this should be called selective forgetting. Right? I don’t know. Really the guy should’ve just said the other guy was being an asshole. That would’ve been more apt and he wouldn’t have had to sound like a douche for saying Selective Memory.
So this is the deal: What we choose to remember and what we can’t help but remember. It’s like 73% percent of life. That data is backed up by science, if I recall correctly.
And don’t let me forget. One thing I’ll warn against—trying to over-remember. This one will trip you up, make you look stupid, get you stumbling over your words, oversaturate your brain, overwhelm your senses, and cause some serious blockage downstairs. We all know so much. But we can only know so much at any particular moment. We have to be selective and let our minds be selective for us. Trust yourself. Mannnn.
That’s one thing about beauty and art. It takes you back, makes you live things again, all mixed up and tangled and natural. A great song or lyric can teleport the past to your present, causing warm feelings, sad emotions, happy thoughts. All the good stuff.
Okay, just some random thoughts. I hope you remember some of them. Let’s see…oh yeah, have a great rest of the weekend. Now. Where are my keys?
Cheers and see you after.
