More Snow Melt

Old Memories versus New Memories

30-Day Blogging Challenge September 1 to September 30, 2011 ~ Day 1 Prompt: "If you had to decide between the two, would you rather forget all of your memories or never be able to make new ones?"

This is a difficult question to answer because our memories, both old and new, help create who we are today and who we will be tomorrow. Without old memories, we wonder aimlessly in an unfamiliar universe. New memories help change our perceptions of humanity and ourselves and without them; we lock ourselves in a never-ending cycle of reliving those memories both good and bad.

Which would I chose? I would not easily or willing make this choice because despite the fact that I have bad memories I would like to forget. I also have good memories I want to hang onto. I am not sure I could make this choice because it means giving up something that is a part of my personality. Giving up something that went into creating the person, I am today. It also means giving up something that goes into making me the person I will be tomorrow.

I do not mind making sacrifices because they are a part of life. However, this sacrifice changes the reasons for some of the choices I made in the past and those I will make in the future, which would I rather have old memories or new memories? If I had the guarantee that the new memories would all be good, then perhaps I would chose the ability to make only new memories. However, this is not a reasonable guarantee because our memories, both old and new, are two-edged swords; are both good and bad.

Our emotional responses to the memories are more important then the memories themselves. We can change our emotional responses to memories once we identify the emotion and the reason we react emotionally to either a good memory or a bad memory.

"If you had to decide between the two, would you rather forget all of your memories or never be able to make new ones?" I do not think could not make this choice. I do not think I would make this choice.