SENIOR MOMENTS

I am in constant awe of the human body. And I find no part more fascinating than the mind.

Yesterday, I was chatting with a friend about our time at Esalen and my room-mate and fellow mushroom voyager Rick’s name came up. But, I drew an absolute blank on his last name. How could I forget that? My chagrin was passed off as a senior moment. I stopped thinking about it and went on with the rest of my day.  Yet some part of my mind wanted that information and set to work finding the name. Sure enough, just as I was falling asleep, there it was; clear as day – Rick Burns.

Let’s put aside for a moment in what form I revealed this information to myself. Was it seeing the name? Hearing it? Sensing it? What does it feel like when you get a bit of memory? I digress.

My theory is that we never really forget anything. But we only have a certain amount of memory for “current information”. As we acquire ever more information and knowledge, some less used data gets archived and becomes a little harder to locate. So, those “senior moments” are not really forgetting anything – it’s just that we have acquired such a vast amount of information that may it may take a while to retrieve it from the archives. Be patient and let the mind do its magic.

Thus, a “senior moment” is not something to be ashamed of. Nay, it should be a source of pride for the great volume of knowledge and information you’ve acquired.

That’s my theory.