Memory and imagination

By Mehdinom (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Sometimes I like to sit and dig through my memories. I often find myself rewriting certain ones, because I didn't like how it happened the first time. But, then I go back again and undo it all to the way it truly was. While it's tempting to create fanciful memories, I don't think it's wise to fiddle with reality. But, that doesn't prevent me from imagining how things could have been, or what I'd do in different situations. Actually, it's a neat mental exercise to do precisely that.

 

I view imagination as one of the most highly prized of all mental faculties. It's sadly lacking in most adults, and charmingly prevalent in children. As kids, we imagined our futures, and could cast our minds far out and pretend anything could happen. Like many children, I wanted to be an astronaut (in fact, I still dream of going into space). I've imagined what it must be like to be weightless, far away from the comforts of Earth, and drifting through infinity. A fun dream was going on a spacewalk, with the Earth past my feet and the stars at my fingertips. I can picture it now--

 

Anyway, it got me thinking about how we reshape our own memories. Most people mainly remember the good times, and forget the bad. But, sometimes we also change those memories so the reality doesn't hurt quite so much. That's a very tender subject, and I'll leave it alone. What I'm getting at, is we use our imaginations in far more ways than just playing pretend as children. As adults, we use it in business decisions, preparing for relationships, and even figuring out what to cook next. It's the ability to see possibilities, and sense the good and bad in them. What an amazing faculty!

 

- M