Remembering to ‘Re-Pack’ the Memory

Isn’t it both interesting and frustrating that certain knowledge – particularly pertaining to people and relationships – evaporates over time. What was once firmly established cannot always be assumed to remain so.

We’re funny creatures us human beings. Get a newsletter in from a contact in business or ministry, perhaps not having heard from them in months and months, and the mind makes all sorts of leaps of assumption. This is because the basis of fact has been rendered void—we’ve plain forget where we left off, including some critical knowledge about their ‘whereabouts’.

There is an opportunity presented here; to recall with consistency one idea. That is to re-pack the memory by actively searching where we left off, before we plunge into ‘re-acquainting’.

In this modern life we can afford this more, for many more of our relationships are managed from long distance via email, social networking and the like. We hence have time to re-acquaint ourselves with necessary information if we’ll only make that a priority. It’s just taking a moment longer in thought, that’s all.

And the Opposite Problem Exists Too

At times we remember too well! We have perhaps remained in that past context, not realising life for them has moved on, as well as it has for us. A classic example is returning to the place of our origin and seeing how much and what has changed. It almost seems unreal, and it catches us by surprise.

We’d do better to prepare our minds in advance that time never stands still and that we’re all moving forward, even those people and places we’ve had hardly a thought about in recent memory.

Accounting for Our Memories

These issues highlight something that we can’t get away from.

Whether we like it or not we’ll be held to account for our lack of or ‘over-efficient’ memories. That is why it would be better for us to keep ourselves to close account before either others feel forced to do it for us, or we get embarrassed via the assumptions we make.

But, regardless, we will inevitably be held to account by others and, in that, we ought to respond in humility no matter how people treat us.

Forgetting, Remembering and Forgiveness

Whether we find ourselves forgetting things or remembering too much, imbalances are forgivable. Some of us are ‘blessed’ with the penchant for one or the other, and most of us on occasion both.

The key plan of life is simply to adapt to the reality we find ourselves in... and this is ostensibly about accepting ourselves in that.

© 2010 S. J. Wickham.