I read an article on MSN yesterday about a new use for the drug propranolol. Apparently it might one day "erase bad memories". You can read it here if you like:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29211183/
I don't want to get into how it works or why it works or if it really does, but it got me thinking about my own bad memories.
Some of them make me angry.
Some of them make me sorrowful.
Some of them make me feel ashamed or embarrassed.
Some of my bad memories make me afraid.
I've had enough therapy that I don't have to relive any of the incidents that are at the root of my bad memories. So I have that going for me. And I'm grateful for it.
But I believe that everything that has happened in my life up to now has had an impact on the person I've become. I wouldn't want to "erase" any of the bad because although those incidents were painful or scary at the time I've tried to learn from those things. Sometimes the only lesson I learned was to be more gentle and patient with other people who may be facing the same kinds of things - it's still a valuable lesson to me. I'm not sure I would've learned any other way. Would I be able to remember how painful some things are if I couldn't remember the cause of the pain?
Other things have lasted so long and had such a deep impact that there is good and bad that are inextricably intertwined. I'd have to throw out whole years. And who wants to erase years of her life? Definitely not me. I have a hard enough time remembering what happened yesterday.
Just a little something to reflect on on a beautiful Monday morning...
I agree Amy. Remember the bad stuff keeps us in check. If you "forget" something, you also forget the lesson learned. However, this could work well for my profession and keep me in a job with repeat offenders ;)
ReplyDeleteThe part about the good and bad being intertwined is true. I have heard a lot about this drug and its uses in memory alteration. I think overall, there are people who cannot move past bad memories--and their lives are negatively impacted for the rest of their lives. This is where the empathy for others comes in, I guess, because you just want to say, snap out of it--you're not the only one who ever had something bad happen to you! So, I try to be more understanding of those I see who might be going through some of the things I did. Overall, though, I think we're a collection of all that has happened to us. If we don't like who we are, we have the power to change. I love the Hebrew adage, "only a fool trips over something that is behind him." (they assume it's a him--I love that part too).
ReplyDeleteI have never known anyone in my entire life who has either watched or gotten their news from MSNBC! WOW!! You are the first!
ReplyDeleteHave I missed something about MSNBC?
ReplyDeleteBilly, not MSNBC, just MSN--you know like msn.com? The page is also my home page and it is full of newsy stuff--you should go there...
ReplyDeletestrange isnt it? I guess if I couldnt move on from a bad episode in my life, maybe this would be a good thing...but life makes you strong, or you wilt, suffer and die. I cant imagine forgetting the bad - cause if you didnt remember bad, how would you know when it was good??
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