Unlocking the ol' Memory Banks
Memory Walk, CC by Robert Hruzek
Notes from my Brazil Travel Journal:
Having been privileged (or cursed, depending upon how you choose to look at it) enough to travel so much, flying domestically has become rather humdrum to me. Usually I simply pass the time with a good book.
For some reason, though, this time I struck up a conversation with the nice lady in the seat next to me. It turned out she was on her way to Madrid, Spain, to meet her husband, who is working somewhere in Africa.
Before too long, we found ourselves sharing stories about the different places we’d been, and it struck me anew how literally everyone has a story to tell, don’t they? The thing is, some folks have the remarkable ability to be able to recall ‘em at the drop of a hat. Others (like little ol’ me) need some kind of “tweak” to drag them out into the open.
As for me, it usually takes an image, a word, or even a factoid in someone else’s story to open up that dusty file cabinet in the ol’ memory banks and pop out a file folder I’d completely forgotten about.
Wouldn’t it be nice if our brains had a sort of Google application to find specific memories? Wow, how would that work, anyway? After all, with an entire lifetime of memories, it would take even the fastest computer chip to search that many bytes of information.
Anyway, in the meantime I’ll just have to rely on the only sure method – using one memory to find another. Alas.
What about you? Do you find it easy to recall stories from your own past? Or are you like me – you need a crowbar to pry ‘em out? What technique would you suggest to improve that ability? I’d love to know!
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21 responses so far
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
Hi Robert, Good questions. I’m somewhere in the middle, I guess. Looking through old photo albums, reminiscing with old friends, and retracing your footsteps when traveling can bring back memories.
I love this question… your timing is perfect for a new project I am working on. Thank you, Robert.
I easily recall memories, because I encourage my 6 senses. The follow are a few samples…1-Sight: Pictures and memorabilia of people, pets and places, which “love”ingly decorate my home and office. 2-Sound: Special messages from family, friends and colleagues, which I have saved on my home and business voicemail. Every month I listen to an auditory album of special events we have shared in our lives. 3-Smell: The tremendous strength of my olfactory system offers me aromas that transport to another time with food, perfume, clothes, babies, gardens, lotions and holidays. 4-Taste: The pleasure of savoring delicious delicacies and recipes that are healthy for my body and happy for my heart. 5-Touch: A loving hug and romantic caress or kiss from my husband, warmth of my father’s old sweater, wind on against my face our Harley, my grandchildren’s fingers wrapped around mine and folding a fine linen handkerchief embroidered with my mother’s monogram. 6-Intuition: The gift of creativity that has given me an abundance of personal joy and professional opportunities! Sheila
Hi Robert,
Oh, I need a crowbar and a few sticks of blasting powder to get ‘em loose. They are buried and since I can hardly remember what I had for breakfast, I do rely on input to help bring them to the surface.
Most of the time, they’re even pertinent to the conversation!
George
@Brad – Actually, that’s one reason the Zone exists – to help the ol’ memory banks shake loose a few good lessons! That’s why I was so happy to visit with this lady on the flight. Reminiscing can take to back, y’know?
@Sheila – It sounds wonderful! Glad you have a reliable system of recall; it’s not often we have all those things at our fingertips.
@George – I think that’s why so-called “bull sessions” can be so much fun, especially when the atmosphere is relaxed. You’ll hear story after story, many of which start with the phrase, “Y’know, that reminds me of…”
I have this annoying habit of remembing small details.
Say I met you, we had a coffee and you had two sugars, about tens later I would meet you again and I could remember that you have two sugars in your coffee.
But the big things tend to slip my mind.
Heya Robert! I think memory is a bit like a muscle that can be trained and improved. I’m getting better at remembering people’s names because I decided to make it a priority. I’m guessing that we can get better at sharing our stories over time. The key is to get the crowbars out more often!
Hello Robert, I am at 23.But I have had the fullest of meaning which one you like to make me understand.thanks, you really enjoy your life with your past memories.Yes it should be recover by us through various sources such as our first smile on the photos, first writtens on the note books with our first teacher’s(OUR MOTHER) writings.. our unforgettable friends’ gifts….our autographs…our photographs with somebody whom we loved and being more.Last but not least the greatest memory cells on our brain which is the most sourceful valued godown for us.I feel your feelings..You great!
@Dean – Alas, I know exactly what you mean! The thing I have the most trouble with is names, though. *sigh*
@Chris – I suppose you’re right; I just never have figured out how to remember names when I meet ‘em the first time. If I can see it written down it helps, but it’s usually not convenient at the time.
Stellamary – Hey, I appreciate that! A big ol’ tip o’ the hat to ya!
That sounds like a nice way to spend a journey. I love it when I find a fellow traveller who likes to talk, I have many fond memories of wonderful conversations had on trains.
As for your question, I sometimes wonder if I’m just a collection of stories, loosely held together by some skin. I feel like I’m wired to assimilate, process and then recall my life experiences as stories.
Some stories are closer to the surface of my memory than others – and some of those don’t do much good there. I think the stories we carry around with us about ourselves can really affect our feelings, and perception of self-worth, self-esteem etc.
I simply can’t imagine not being able to remember stories. I make sure I keep them reigned in when I meet new people, I’d hate to be a huge bore, but one or two usually slip out on a long journey…
Spending time in relaxed conversation with friends is the best way I know to unlock memories. My problem is that in today’s busy world, it is hard to grab such opportunities.
@Emma – Although totally out of character for me, it actually was a great way to spend that flight from Houston to Miami. I may just have to pull my nose out of my book more often. (He said…)
I loved your self-description as a “collection of stories, loosely held together by some skin”. In fact, I kinda feel the same way about myself. But it gets aggravating when stories don’t come out on their own, y’know? Until I can find that “handle” I need, there seems to be no way to yank those babies outta the basement!
@Paul – Yeah, you do sound like a busy fellow, Paul! My advice would be: take a lesson from the Master Himself and make the time you need. Just sayin’.
Hi Robert, great post here. I certainly need to travel a great deal more, Haven’t had a good summer holiday away for a few years now. Hopefully this year will get away and the pictures do certainly help (I have a terrible memory ha ha).:D
@Ryan – You and me both, Bubba!
Hi Robert and other readers here. For some years, I traveled a lot myself. Some trips being as long as 18 hours with maybe one stop to change planes or grab a little more fuel.
I usually spent my hours reading as I don’t sleep too well sitting up.
I’m not big or coincidences, but have to say that just this morning I was reading about a school for improving recall of facts and figures plus much more. I wonder how it is that just after that I stumbled on your site. Hmmmm….
I really missed the boat when I didn’t take the time to sit down with my grandmother and record her stories of her youth and now it’s too late.
BTW, I get the idea you are either from or live in Houston. I was born there and raised just east of Houston in Baytown.
Regards, Ray
@Raymond – Hey, thanks a herd for dropping by, Bubba, and welcome to the Middle Zone! Yes, I live in Houston at the moment, anyway – you never know when work might take me somewhere, though.
I totally agree! If our minds were like google and we could just search for any memory we have recorded in our brain’s database. This topic is awesome, really interesting and it gives a lot to think about when it comes to our memory. Thanks for this post, very interesting!