I was watching a series earlier today…its a story set in 2005.
What comes to your mind when you think of 2005? Surely does not seem 18 years back at first glance does it? In fact, we are closer to 2035 than we are to 2005 – but our minds somehow think it the other way around.
Is this because our past experiences are more ‘recent’ only since we lived through them, whereas the future, however close it is, still hasn’t been experienced yet?
When you look back at 2005, how much of the period in between can you remember? Am sure there are many moments, situations and specific instances that come to mind, but do you comprehend the length of this time that passed by? Think of how long your day at work seems, and then extrapolate it to a full 18 years…seems like a lifetime in itself.
And yet, we don’t remember most of it.
Is this because we humans now stride through life in auto mode? Work 5 days, rest 2. Eat, watch, browse, sleep…The brain is built for efficiencies, and primarily as a thought processor, not a memory stick….and so it does not remember monotony, it records only when there is a deviation from the norm. This is why you don’t recollect what you ate a week before, unless it was food ordered from outside or a dish that tasted wow (or bad). And this is why new parents remember each and every milestone of their young one, and everything in between as well – since everything was new, was first, was different.
Doesn’t this mean that we should strive to create more experiences that are new, exciting and challenging, rather than just go through the motions? Will this not make our lives more memorable?
Hmmm…
See you tomorrow!