On a warm Tuesday night, I realized the futility of the human mind.
I was lying on my couch, having just returned from my Brazilian Jujitsu lesson. I pondered whether to munch a bowl of trail mix or go to bed.
Suddenly, with the speed and ferocity of a cracking whip, I was hit with a dreadful thought: Where is my water bottle?
The moments that followed were primal.
I was overwhelmed with a frenzied desire to recover my precious possession. My head jerked erratically in many directions as my eyes scanned the surroundings for a magenta-coloured 1-litre water bottle.
But it was nowhere to be seen.
As the initial outburst of emotions mellowed down, the rational mind took over (or so I thought).
In a systematic manner with extreme confidence, my memory recalled how I had taken the water bottle out of my sports bag. While sipping some water, I conversed deeply with a friend. Consequently, I forgot to put the bottle back into my bag.
By now, the sky had darkened, and the temperature had fallen. Yet, fueled by my rational insight, I put on my jacket and embarked on returning to my Brazilian Jujitsu dojo.
Upon reaching the destination, I was lucky to find that the dojo doors were still open. A few older men were enjoying the summer night. Much to those elders’ amusement, I scoured the place with unwavering certainty in my memory.
But, once again, the bottle was nowhere to be seen.
By now, the older men’s amusement had turned to irritation. They viewed the frantic pursuit of my possession as a loud buzzing fly. It gnawed their peaceful state of mind, and they beckoned me to leave.
In exasperated defeat, I make the walk of shame back home.
I sat on the same couch where this fiasco had begun. A myriad of perplexing thoughts came over me:
“I am going to have to buy a new bottle.”
“What a waste of my money.”
“Why would someone steal a wat-“
Before I could finish the malicious thought, my eyes saw what my brain wouldn’t. It was magenta and had a capacity of 1 litre.
It was my water bottle…
Apparently, I looked everywhere apart from the foot table right next to me.
I had been fooled by myself and my memory. I will leave it up to you to imagine the emotions that came after.
This is part one of a two-part series on memory.