"There's More To Forget"
“When we document wisely, memories and records give our lives meaning and value. In stone, on paper or in the minds eye, they help to drive us forward in honor of the past, with inspiration of knowing what more we can be because of it.”
In a person’s day to day life, there are hundreds of events taking place on a daily basis. So many ‘things’ are happening, inside the body, in thought and mind, in the world around us and on it goes. Much of it is just ‘stuff’ and has no qualitative usefulness or value to our benefit. This is true in modern times more than ever before in human history. So it serves us no gift to save every bit of it to memory. It seems that we aren’t even designed to do so. Maybe because there is no real need to when it comes to the bigger picture of our lives. We typically look at forgetting things as some kind of “inability to remember”. With negative connotations always attached. But lately I’ve been flipping the leaf. Reflecting on it as a natural clean-up process. Erasing and deleting stuff as some form of mental maintenance. “The ability to forget”. Viewing it as a positive function, feature or attribute of ours. Also considering the filters that we use to determine what gets recorded and preserved, versus what gets discarded. Some things never make it pass the save filters to begin with. In the ethereal memory banks, on paper, or set in stone. Some things are filtered-out unwillingly and forgotten by accident. Some things are filtered-in intentionally and forgotten on purpose. You can flip that one so many different ways, right?
We document things to compensate for our natural ability to forget. To erase, purge or miss things in our life experience. As humans, it’s what we do. Think about it. On a globally recognized level, commonly accepted by nearly everyone, we have libraries, museums, maps, and more. In the world of business, we have blueprints, annual sales receipts, company policies and procedures, etc. Documents for days baby! In all phases of technology, we’ve generated equipment schematics, signal flow diagrams, and blah, blah. In sports, we have national and world records, single game highlights and complete career statistics in the archives. In our personal lives, you’ll find uncountable numbers of family photo albums, poem collections, diaries, recipes and on it goes. We save letters, clothing, trinkets and anything else that has significance to us. The human culture has always been based on chronicling and record keeping. Every law, court case, hospital visit, school appearance and grade you’ve ever received is likely saved somewhere. Kinda creepy if you ask me. But for what reasons? And why are we forgetting in the first place?
Consider, if it wasn’t for our nature to forget, we may not have been inspired to bring great expressions of our creativity, genius and growth into the world. Like an abstract mural or a beautiful monument created in memory of something or someone valuable to us. Sometimes the honoree or the memorable event has only a personal significance to one or a few people, but the expression it inspires can have a positive impact on millions for years to come. The amazing things we come up with to preserve the memory and legacy of something. Our so-called faulty forgetful minds can’t be trusted to handle it for us, right? But maybe it wasn’t meant to. That’s what makes you do what you do!
We also accumulate and produce a lot of junk and better off forgotten lore in the process. In my humble opinion, much of what gets saved in the physical world (as structures, engravings or valuable objects) may be quite valuable or critical to some, but it usually proves to be a subjective value only. And if you ask me, a ton of what’s preserved on paper, physical and digital, is a subjective waste of fine oxygenating trees and hard drive space respectively. But again, such a claim on what is truly worth committing to memory and why it should be, is often a subjective one. And my opinions are no exception to that. It can and will be argued or debated from day til night.
I starting thinking about the more fundamental reasons and benefits behind all the record keepings. Of course we’re all clear on some of the obvious ones. How else could we teach and pass down what we’ve learned so far? How would we show proof of discoveries and re-live timeless moments of great historical events? And then there’s that worthy-of-being-chronicled-super-great-thing-that-we-did; or that ultra-cool-guinness-rare-record we broke; that gives us a bop’em sock full of bragging rights as long as it’s on the books! Definitely couldn’t leave that out. 🙂 With the obvious aside, and the subjective reasons considered, something more universally fundamental rings true. It’s not that complicated. We simply do it because we have to! We need to do it in order to keep conscious about happenings, events and formulas that we would have otherwise forgotten about in a hundred different ways over the countless decades of this over-stimulated, event-filled human experience.
Time to relax and let it pass. It is quite unnecessary and highly impractical to care about or remember all of it in any given case. Much of the constant back pedaling and past dwelling may be working against our universal progress. Now when we document wisely, These records give our lives meaning and value. On paper or in the minds eye, they help to drive us forward in honor of the past, with inspiration of knowing what more we can be because of it.
And speaking of the mind’s eye, the brain is constantly engaged in its own internal version of this same phenomenon. Excessively documenting things, committing selective and random stuff to memory non-stop. Do we really know why? I mean, let’s be straight up here. Much of what our brains retain was not consciously selected by us for memory preservation. So can we even begin to know exactly why we saved it? We didn’t even do it on purpose half the time. Or so it seems. The same applies to what gets forgotten, or what never gets committed to memory in the first place. So many filters.
Well it often takes time to think on these things. Give it some thoughts as you experience your day and share them in the comments. I know I got something stewing up there. 🙂
Take a look at this next article for more of my 7 Cents! 🙂
There’s More To Forget 2: Drama, Drama, Drama
In the meantime, try not to forget about me.
This Post Has 9 Comments
HOTEP. First of all, the beginning of these writings tell us what the writer’s intentions are. To pass and share a knowledge that few know. It should NOT be taken as if the writer is on an “EGO” or “BRAG” trip, but to give some insight on a subject that was given by a “Higher Source”. That source being the “Infinite Almighty One”, you know who I’m speaking on! Or do you? Hope so! I know I saw it as I began reading. In that first paragraph alone, I knew this read was needed to be taken in deeply and not passed over as some of the”STUFF” you read on most of these information sites such as facebook, etc, etc, etc…
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It screamed out at me “STOP, READ, GIVE ME YOUR FULL ATTENTION”. Man, am I so grateful that I did!
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As you continue to read paragraph by paragraph, your understanding, innerstanding and overstanding come together and you become one with this great wisdom. You also will be grateful and thankful to “FORGET”! I could write a book from each paragraph, because each time you read it, more and more knowledge, wisdom and innerstanding comes to your “FORGETFUL” brain, get what I’m saying? [I read it,so far four times]. All those gaps and empty spaces of “forgetting and Remembering” are filled with knowledge of why?! As you read on, more and more lights will come on and give light to the dark part of your mind that the world and public told you “YOU HAVE DEMENTIA” “YOU HAVE ALZHEIMER’S” LIAR. I just forgot what was needed to forget!
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This thesis gave me peace of mind on this subject [Phil4:7] My forgetting has been analyzed and broke down where even a child could innerstand!
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The world was and is wrong. You “UnorthoDark” have broke the seal on this one. Their view on the subject can now be flushed where it belongs! This had most of us Elders in a tail spin of a panic and myself being 76yrs. It really messed with my “MIND” a lot! That alone scared the memory out of us “ELDERS”! I guess that was their plan in the making of this “FORGETFULNESS”!? Maybe, huh? Anyway, hope you innerstand, understand or just stand on what I’m talking!? Bless you, UnorthoDark, for cleaning up and putting this great beacon of light on this subject they kept in outer darkness so long. Thank you! The thorn that was in the elders has been removed!! 2cor12:6-8 Praise EL ELYON. The Most High! Lord knows I can write more but I pray that what I have written will suffice for now!
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Bless you again and Asante’ Sana (meaning “Thank You Very Much UD”)
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PEACE!!!
Thank you very much OG. I’m glad that it is being looked at with an open mind and with consideration to the possibilities. Even when some things are not true or possible, we can make them true and redefine our reality with some effort. I am glad that it is helping, enlightening and uplifting. If nothing else, provoking and encouraging new thought and considerations. Praise Nyame! And yes, many of our elders deal with the dreaded memory loss issue that is said to be a sign of fading out. Even if so, there’s always more to the story. Especially outside of what the liars of the world keep tryna shove into our minds. Losers… Even in your total forgetfulness, you are more brilliant, worthy and knowledgeable than they could ever be. And there is more to this one. 3 more Ciphers to be exact! Keep it going!
You bet your sweet mind I will! This adventure is well worth traveling. So keep the knowledge coming. Lord knows we all need to hear this “WISDOM!
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Much Love, Hotep!
🙂 Nice one. Now you’re really Ciphering! 🙂
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Love as well!
After reading this post, I can agree with unconsciously storing so many minute things into memory happens on its own with no one person being able to completely crack the brain’s code as to why it does this function; especially even when we do not want certain things stored. Out of the many years I have been in existence, the one thing that has never went away from memory is how I have witnessed multitudes of people who prefer/choose to deliberately live in an “unstable” manner because many people mind’s muscles have ONLY grown (at all, if any) by feeding on the memories of pain. I have always been a “glass half full” instead of “glass half empty” “existor”🤔; especially when extremely dehydrated (in a non physical matter). I need to drink the water I have. This is called “right now”. So, I do. It gets me on to the next battle where I usually end of eliminating the enemy and “taking” their water because they do not deserve it. But as long as I recognize the facts, my mind rewards me to remember that it is the facts of each current moment and what is required “right now” to do what is right and acceptable to The Creator that matters “right now”. No matter if I lose invaluable time attempting to “kid” my own “self” trying to forget, memorize, or remember what I believe is good from yesterday or remember what “used to work”, it is in each moment where I live. Yester-years and last week no longer matters…every second of each day is a “right now” and the question is how will I utilize it each and every single moment as it comes and quickly goes.
I have witnessed much of the same in my day, all around me. So I feel you. And it has sometimes included me too. To keep it real, I personally never “chose” to, but have definitely been caught up myself in having my ‘mind muscles” constantly operating on, and attacked with, thoughts and memories of pain and negativity in general. So I know all about being on both sides of the coin. But I always knew I had a choice, no matter how normal, natural or automatic it seemed. And I had to do what was necessary to keep it, use it and protect it from worthless mindstalking losers and my own self-sabotage. Through these works, and many more, I help others accomplish the same exact thing. Ancestor sponsored!
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Using that “right now” mentality as you described it, is a good means to keep the mind filled with your positive goals and what is current on the plate to proceed and succeed. These type of things help to keep the mental space occupied, leaving little room in the mind for the negativity or troubles to fester, take focus, or have a place to hang out. No room, no time. Excellent.
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And keep taking the wicked ones water, it won’t do them any good where they’re headed!
I loved both comments from PTSD and yours UD. Real worth while reading!
Your brain cannot capture everything. Sometimes the things that you remember are so random. You have no control over what your mind will capture. You need a record of events to adequately keep track of history.
Or maybe we DO carry the faculties needed to be more in control of this, but we simply won’t use them cause nobody wants to do the work and nobody wants to believe that it is possible in contradiction to the usual general beliefs in place.