Messages and memories

IT is quite absurd to imagine that only a few centuries ago, the idea of connection was so minuscule and limited compared to what we experience today.
Long-distance communication was either impossible or impractical, and it may have taken anywhere between several days to multiple months just to transfer a message from one person to another, especially if they did not live in close proximity. Communication, specifically in the long distance, was almost never spontaneous or continuous. While someone on two different continents may have looked at the same moon in the sky or observed the same sun as it set and rose, they would have never gotten an opportunity to share the pleasure of a conversation.

Fortunately, the passing of time has brought us gifts of remarkable change and growth. Today, we can easily connect with people in every corner of the world. We can build an entire relationship with someone whom we have never met before. We can leave digital messages that will remain accessible to people long after the end of our own existence. This means that we have a chance to learn about the world that exists beyond the boundaries of our own experiences. It also means that we have the opportunity to speak and be heard – to share a story or message without needing to prove ourselves worthy of simply being listened to. Most importantly, it means that we can influence and impact others profoundly.

Every day, we come across hundreds of faces and voices. Some of these faces and voices blur and melt into irretrievable memories as life progresses. A few of them, however, remain imprinted in our minds forever. They have the power to evoke specific feelings from within us or remind us of important lessons that we have learned. Even those faces which our eyes have met for less than a minute, even those voices that have only uttered a few words to us – they all have the power to influence us and change who we are. Now, with drastic changes in technology and the rapid rate at which globalisation is occurring, we bear the crucial responsibility of reminding ourselves that we can change a person for the better or worse with just one action or word. The words that we type into a screen or speak into a microphone can build or shatter a soul.

Did you know that a few people in our world experience a rare condition called Hyperthymesia? Hyperthymesia refers to the extraordinary ability to remember details of one’s own life to an almost perfect extent. This means that those who have the condition can remember everything from small choices and moments to crucial, life-changing events. While this may initially seem like a beautiful gift, we must remember that not all memories and moments in our lives are positive. In fact, the only way we are able to survive our own mistakes and negative experiences is through our ability to gradually forget them. So, can you imagine how difficult it must be to live a life where you can recall every trauma, every mistake and every bad day in all its excruciating detail?

Being human means that we collide and interact with other people on a daily basis. Although not everyone suffers from hyperthymesia, it is still true that we remember meaningful interactions and allow them to change us as we grow. As young people who were born into an era where human interactions have reached their highest level of speed and intensity when compared to the past, we are born with an important responsibility. We are born with the responsibility of influencing others positively by trying our best to create positive memories. The things that we say and do to another person can paint their entire world in a different colour.

Perhaps the world would be a kinder, more beautiful place if we behaved as if everyone experiences Hyperthymesia. After all, how many of our words and actions would we still choose to put out into the world if we believed that they would be remembered by everyone for the rest of their lives? Every message we send is a memory that we create. Let us choose to create memories that form extraordinary people.

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