The BOLD (Worth the Memory)
I’m reading an excellent book right now entitled The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Remember Happy Moments. The author, Meik Wiking, is a researcher who studies happiness. In this book, he explores the ways in which happy memories are formed and the benefits of retaining them.
Great memories result from great experiences, of course. In order to have a reserve of happy memories to temper the challenges of the moment, to remind us of our resilience, and to deepen our sense of satisfaction, we need to ensure that we are having memory-worthy experiences.
The Whisper (Never Have I Ever)
Think back to an important summer day of your past. Fill in the details of sight and sound and smell and maybe even taste. What makes that memory so easy to retrieve? Chances are it is one or more of several of the factors Meik Wiking outlines in his book, The Art of Making Memories. The chief factor that is most likely to have made this memory, and in fact many of your happiest memories, so sticky is novelty. The first time we see, hear, experience, notice or do something, we are making a potent memory. I remember the first time I tried escargot with blazing detail. I can call to mind the first time I tried archery, the first day of my first cruise, the day we brought our son home from the hospital.
The power of novelty in making new memories has serious implications right now. As we experience the unfolding pandemic, we are learning the meaning of the word unprecedented. There has never been a global crisis quite like this. There have been similar events, similar diseases, similar economic challenges. Similar is not this. This is novel.
At the same time, most of us are experiencing a same same same daily life. Without access to the places that provided variety in our lives—places for work, shopping, socializing, self-investment, learning—most of us are living in a flowing day in and day out river of sameness. We are struggling to differentiate the days of the week. (“Is it Tuesday or Saturday?”). Wake, eat, work, eat, work, eat, don’t work, sleep. The environment is unvarying and the experiences bleed into each other.
We are left hanging between the novelty of the global experience and the tedium of our personal experience. What kinds of memories are we making right now?
As always, we have a lot of latitude to answer that question with our own choices and actions. Finding ways to introduce novelty right now may seem difficult but with some creativity, a little planning, and an adventurous spirit, it is possible.
Where Are the Firsts?
Here are some ideas for introducing novelty, sensory experiences and adventures to break up the same sameness of your day while still maintaining physical distance:
New Food: Is there a dish you’ve always wanted to try? Make a meal from a new recipe. Get takeout from a new restaurant. Order a box of treats or supplies from an international online source. When you eat, really savor the experience.
Discover a New Place: There are, no doubt, places in your own community that you haven’t seen. Walk in a new park. Take a good old fashioned Sunday drive. Find places of natural or architectural beauty.
Learn a new skill: The internet is full of videos that can introduce you to a new skill or activity. Learn to make a basket from pine needles. Master the essentials of photography. Explore until you find something new to do.
Just because our normal routes to new activities are blocked doesn’t mean that there aren’t novel experiences to be had. I’d love to hear what you’ve done recently that you’ve never done before. How are you creating happy memories even in the midst of difficult times?
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