-What about space then? I've been fascinated by all things
space and the Universe as far back as I can
remember, he said.
-Really? Hmm. I guess that time travel is something
that interests me but I'm afraid that I have never really
spent any serious time investigating ''Space or Universe'', I
answered.
-Wow! Seriously? You're a person who is basically interested
in everything, but Space and Universe does not entice you
into further investigation? Richard asked and then began
a lecture on how exciting and amazing Astronomy is.
As he excitedly spoke of the ''never ending and
mysterious Universe'' he did make it sound interesting.
But, as exciting as he found ''the out there'' I find
the ''in here'', as in the goings on inside of a human
mind.
*
Let me explain what I mean with ''time travel'' for
the purpose of this post:
The kind of ''time travel'' that interests me is the
kind of time travel any healthy brain/mind can
and does engage in every single day from a
very young age.
With our minds/brains we can ''travel back in time''
with help of our memories, we can travel forward in time
with the help of imagination/visualization, or we can
experience living in the ''now'' by focusing all our
attention on each moment as it presents itself to us.
(In short, the ability we have to re-live past
experiences and pre-live potential future events/
experiences.)
Some even use the term ''mental time travel''
as us humans seem to be able to travel back
into the past whenever we want to.
Alas, memory is crucial for our development from
newborn beings to fully functioning adults.
There are several different types of memories
such as short term/long term, implicit/explicit,
etc. etc. to mention a few so for the purpose of
this post I am going to stick with what ''those in
the know'' now reckon: ''Every time we recall
a memory of an experience we have been through,
we alter it''.
*
''A memory is NOT a fixed ''recording'',
it is a dynamic reconstruction process.''
Every time we remember something
..........we change some aspects of it.
The forest that I experienced as huge and
full of magical critters as a child, 20 years
later proved to be a mere copse.
Movies that blew my mind as a teenager,
20 years later seem contrived and badly
made.
People that seemed amazing, brilliant and
super smart in my twenties, 20 years later
have lost their sparkle and become just as
frayed and disillusioned as myself.
There are some experiences that I
remember from ''back then'' that still makes
me anxious, doubt my confidence and feel as
if I should have done so much better.
And then there are memories that needs
all my will power to keep them at bay, to stop
them from growing and to stop me from
wanting to run away.
For years I have battled with PTSD and GAD
and it can be really scary.
Sometimes I would overcome those battles with distraction
as in for example: just doing something constructive
such as playing an instrument for hours, drawing something,
put headphones on and listen loud music, go for a walk,
go for a swim, etc.
Then one day a psychologist said this to me:
''Sometimes it can be easier to replace a bad memory
with a good one than trying to distract yourself.
A memory belongs to the past so if we replace the old
painful memory with a fresh new positive one, eventually
the old memory will fade.''
A memory is not set in cement.
It is malleable.
We can't change bad times and experiences
that we have been through but we can change how
we remember those times.
Actually, in truth, we always do.
''Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.''
(Oscar Wilde)
''Nothing fixes a thing so intently in the memory
as the wish to forget it.''
(Michel de Montaigne)
about the image: Martin Luther King Jr. remembers,
graphite on medium sized paper
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