Estimated Reading time 3 minutes 

Quote

Learning

You are standing at the shore of a beautiful beach.

You can feel the granular sand particles under your feet.

The cooling wave comes in washes over your feet and recedes back.

You stand there for many more moments and start to feel the sand under your feet making a hollow.

Then you walk away.

I bet this small excerpt was able to wire your emotions of the time you actually experienced standing at a beach and you were able to create an imagery.

The question is, how did your brain know which associated memory to pick up to immerse into this feeling?

Let’s expore that in today’s newsletter.

Today at a glance:

• What is memory?

• Why memories are important to our functioning?

• How do we build good memories?

What is memory?

Growing up, I lived in a society called Shri Twinkle Star Apartments in my hometown Vasai, India.

Every year on 31st December, we would play different exciting and competitive games.

One of the games was called the memory game. Kids between the ages of 6 - 11 were eligible to participate.

You had to wait outside a room, and when the game conductor allowed you in, you could go inside as a group, look at all the different physical objects for 1 minute, and then you had to go outside, write all the objects you saw on a sheet of paper.

The person with the maximum number of items correctly recalled and spelled was the winner.

This activity is a great segue to explain what memory is.

Why memories are important to our functioning?

While writing this newsletter from Scarborough Town Centre's Food Court, I notice how everyone coming down from the escalator takes a moment to look down at where they are stepping.

Their memory of remembering to check their step to avoid any hazardous situation has enabled all these people to take a quick look down.

There was only one person who did not actively look down because their memory of holding the railings on the escalator has enabled them in the past to safely onboard and offboard the escalator.

Hence, the person was able to adjust their experience based on this knowledge stored away in the brain.

In a nutshell, memories are important to our functioning because it helps us fit in our present circumstances and adjust (if needed) based on past experiences.

How do we build “good” memories?

Let’s explore the answer to this question with an exercise in the prompt.

Prompt

Today’s prompt segment involves relfection and observation.

Don’t over analyze it. Just write in the notes section of your phone.

Once you have listed them, do the next segment.

♟️ My turn:

My 3 memories from 2023:

1. Giving my first speech at Toastmasters:

   If you have not heard of Toastmasters before and are looking to develop public speaking skills, highly recommend it. The international organization has clubs across the world where members practice speeches and get & give feedback.

   

   Giving a General Evaluation at Richmond Hill Toastmasters Club

2. Visiting Alberta and hiking the mesmerizing mountains near the breathtaking Lake Louise:

   The hike must have lasted 1.5 hours, but it felt like 20 minutes.

   

   Hike around Lake Louise

3. Camping with my friends, particularly the morning when we just sat quietly in front of the lake. Got no picture for this one. I just sat there and took the calmness all in.

Patterns I observe:

• 2 of them involved nature

• All of them involved interaction with people.

• My metric to building “good memories” involves being in company of people and nature.

• I cannot recall anything that I did in solitutude as “good” memory.

♟️ Your turn:

Stay Cute and intentional,

Clerisa Varghese

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