One
of the books I’m currently reading is The
Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, written by Umberto Eco. The book is about a man who awakes after a
terrible accident without the ability to recognize his wife or daughters. What I found interesting was a comment the
main character made.
When
his wife brought him home from the hospital, still unaware of his past or who
his loved ones are, he remarked to her how, “You can only anticipate the future
if you can call the past to mind.” He
said this when referring to how he’s amazed that he’s able to recall mechanical
actions, like brushing his teeth, walking, driving a car, but realizes that’s
only possible because somewhere in the recesses of his mind dwell the occasions
when he learned those abilities.
I
found the character’s revelation thought provoking. Had never really thought about it
before. Yes, I write all the time about
how one must come to terms with their past to move forward. But I had never given much thought to the
bui9lding blocks that allow us to subconsciously recall how to do the most
menial and also complex tasks.
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