We’ve heard a lot about memory, we have been told about our good and bad experiences in our childhood. Honestly! Our parents enjoy telling us about our adventures and how awesome and cute we were. Otherwise! We’ve learned that our present is based on and controlled by all of our memories in the past.
Taking you as an example. Whether you’re warm-hearted and open-minded or not, you’re acting the way your parents, society, and other factors taught you.
Looking through the lens of science and psychology, anyone will tell you that memory is how we draw on our past experiences to use this information in the present.
But, dear visitor! You are here to learn about it in a new way. To make it easy for you, how would you feel if you knew that memory is not just limited to the past? Confusing right? Well, that’s the truth: memory is also a link between our present and future. But how?
To put it simply, you’re using your mind every single day to imagine and predict what tomorrow will be like; in the office, in the school, etc. And that in itself makes up a kind of memory: your memory of the future.
We can take, for example, a foreign speaker whose goal is learning English. He plans to join a language center and takes classes, intending to be a good English speaker. In his case, his memory of the future is all his predictions and hypotheses about mastering a new language.
“Memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. But I don’t go along with that. The memories I value most, I don’t ever see them fading.”
― Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
Memory also helps us to predict things we haven’t done or tried before.
Supposing you’re still single! How do you imagine your future wedding? Or your life partner?
You have a positive preview of how widely-respected and well-dressed your spouse is. You will spend your nights imagining how fascinating and stunning your wedding will be, how alluring and attractive your wedding dress will look, the guests, your friends, the place where you’re going to celebrate, and of course the pride in the eyes of your parents.
And now! What if you’re already married, and you are waiting for your first baby from the woman you love. Normally! You’ll start presuming how pretty and cute he will be: « will he take after me or he will resemble his mother? His eyes will look like mine or not?». You’ll start searching for his or her name: « Haidy is not often used but beautiful! No, Emily sounds better. What about Dylan, if he was a boy?! Hmm, I think Jay is much better …».
All this, my friend, is considered “memory”!! It uses your current information and drives your mind to work and make hypotheses about your future life and the new people you’re going to meet.
Finally! I would like to share this proverb with you, to show that we’re not only proposed by our destiny, but we also act voluntarily and willingly in this life:
«A dry March, a wet April and a cool May fill barn and cellar and bring much hay.»
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