Our Past is nothing more than a collection of memories?

“Everyone’s past… is nothing more than a collection of memories that they chose to remember”  Andrew Davidson

I came across this interesting sentence in a marvellous book I have just read called The Gargoyle and it got me thinking.  I’m inclined to agree but do we actually choose the memories that we remember?  What does it take to erase a bad memory?  I have been relatively lucky in my life and my past isn’t scared with many traumas, so I claim no expertise here, but I do know people who have lived through tough experiences  and I can see how these are imprinted on them.

The past we remember is obviously patchy, and our recollection is necessarily incomplete and entirely subjective.  So it is certainly possible to add or subtract from this picture and by doing so to change it; and in changing this story, we change us too.

We can either add a rosy glow to memories to make them more palatable or more special, equally we can retrospectively cast people in the role of demons and erase all their better points.  Both strategies have value and both have a cost too that we pay every day.

I would love to gather some stories about how you might have changed by reassessing or redefining your memories.

“A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.”   Edward de Bono

“Memory is a child walking along a seashore.  You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things.”   Pierce Harris

“A childhood is what anyone wants to remember of it.  It leaves behind no fossils, except perhaps in fiction”.   Carol Shields

Tags: false memories, memories, the past

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 31st, 2009 at 10:56 and is filed under General, Personal Change. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.