Trip Down Memory Lane

 

In so many ways, how are brains truly work is still a mystery. In the last 20 years, neuroscience has advanced by leaps and bounds but we’ve barely scratched the surface. Our brains prefer to put us on autopilot as the sensory input is far greater than what we can pay attention. Ever drive home but don’t remember how you got there?  The brain takes over a task that it knows well while you daydream about something else. Then there are memories that pop in our heads at the most random times. Maybe it is something that we experienced in elementary school, in a previous job, or in a prior relationship.  The feelings we felt when the experience occurred come rushing back.

The more senses that are attached to a memory, the easier it is to recall.  Music is a very powerful mnemonic device. During our lives, music plays a very important part no matter how old we are. For those of Generation X, if Journey comes on you either become a small town girl, livin’ in a lonely world or just a city boy raised in South Detroit. I bet some of you started hearing the song in your head, right? Maybe it was song that brings back the thoughts of a first love.  Mix tapes anyone? The power of music on our feelings and memories is so potent that the right music during a memorable movie scene makes all the difference.  What would Jaws be without the “daaa da” or the Imperial March preceding the appearance of Darth Vader? Music quickly transports us back to attached memories and the feelings attached to them.

Smell also has the power to bring back memories. For some of us it might be the smell of fresh baked chocolate chips cookies our mom just took out of the oven. For others, it’s a perfume or cologne of a loved one. Every time I get a whiff of Brut, I can’t help but think of my grandfather who was more like a father.  Smells don’t have to be pleasant for them to have an impact on our memory.  If anyone has ever played hockey, had a child that played hockey or shared a room with a hockey player, there is nothing quite like the smell of practice worn hockey equipment.

For me, there are two very distinct smells that remind me of home.  I grew up in rural Wyoming County in Western New York. Most people think New York and picture NYC. That couldn’t be further from the truth.  When I was growing up, we had an Archway Cookie factory at one end of town. Depending on the day and the direction of the wind, you could tell whether they were baking peanut butter, chocolate chip or molasses cookies. Being in a small town with a large agriculture industry, the cows outnumbered the people.  If the wind blew the other way, the smell of cow manure, recently spread on the corn fields was just as easy to smell.  When I take my four children back to visit my hometown, the first comment sure to come from their mouths is, “What smells?” As strange as it might be, to them it stinks but to me it’s home. Anyone that grew up in the country near farmland probably feels the same way.

So why all this nostalgia about 80s music and the smell of manure? These are just a couple examples of triggers that can transport us to a different place and time.  Some triggers are good ones that conjure up positive memories and feelings. Some triggers have the opposite effect. Some triggers bring on feelings of anxiety, anger or quilt. These are the triggers we need to be aware of and work to counter. These negative triggers stop us from being vulnerable.  They stop us from living the lives we want and stop us from making connections with others. In a time where we are coming out a pandemic, see so much anger on TV and social media, connecting to others is more important than ever. We need to feel connected, but our children need to feel that connection. That connection can provide them with comfort, love, and a sense of certainty an uncertain world so they can grow into well-adjusted, emotionally intelligent humans.  By providing all children with a supportive environment, we create a positive legacy for the future.