Senses and Memories

I was thinking today, as I poked my head out the door to my parent’s backyard to the campfire they made, how many experiences the smell, and sound reminded me of. From summer camp to family gatherings, to late nights with friends. We often let smells, and sounds take a back seat in our memories.  Often they’re not memorable or even noticeable in some cases, but I think there’s some worth thinking about.

As a Minnesotan, I understand the thought behind smelling, rain and snow and hearing rain, it’s a comfort you end up remembering times when you were a kid playing in the snow, or when you heard rain outside and hunkered down in the house with your family to wait out the storm or hanging out with friends somewhere, and it kept you where ever you were because no one wanted to deal with the rain.

There are some other examples that I think of concerning smells. When I smell forests I think of when I lived on the north shore of Minnesota, or Christmas – depends on the day.

On the other hand, when I smell coffee, I’m reminded of the first time I had it in high school on a youth group trip or fun times from college or hanging out with friends at a coffee shop.

In terms of sound, there’s sometimes music to think of. I certainly turn on some songs to bring me back to a moment in time. There are also songs that I enjoyed hearing for the first time at a certain event, or a certain friend introduced to me and I remember the people involved.

Other sounds like a given person’s quirky laugh, or a funny phrase remind me of a person or the circumstance that brought it out. 

When I hear a garage door opener I often think of my parent’s getting home from work in the evening.  There are probably other everyday sounds that have a unique connotation to me that I won’t remember until I hear them again.

Now there’s far more to memories than the smells and sound, but these elements aren’t always acknowledged. Now, I think you should still take pictures, but try being more aware of your senses in the future and it might help you remember the little things better in the future.