The inability to remember details, such as the location of objects, begins in early midlife (the 40s) and may be the result of a change in what information the brain focuses on during memory formation and retrieval, rather than a decline in brain function, according to a study by McGill University researchers.

When middle-aged and older adults were shown a series of faces, red regions of the brain were more active; these include an area in the medial prefrontal cortex that is associated with self-referential thinking. That’s a part of the brain known to be involved with information having to do with one’s own life and introspection.

In young adults, by contrast, blue regions – which include areas important for memory and attention – were more active during this task. Rajah and colleagues found that young adults activated their visual cortex while successfully performing this task. As she explains, “They are really paying attention to the perceptual details in order to make that decision”. (1)

We are born into this world and soon after we are bedazzled by what we see. We try to see and remember everything, as if it matters somehow. As we grow up, the more we see the more we understand the futility of the senses, the futility of remembering, the futility of living. Soon, we start self-reflecting, ignoring the world around us. Some people might call that dementia. But they should know better. The wisest people on Earth talked against the senses. The wisest people in this cosmos warned against the importance of what most people see as important.

It does not matter what you see. It will be there no more a nanosecond after you stop looking. It does not matter what you remember. Think of something else and that will be your memory. What you remember will always be there and what you do not as well. It does not matter what your body looks like. You are not your body. It does not matter how you analyze things. Analyze them in a different way and you will reach a different conclusion.

Self-referencing conscious souls we are.

Trapped in a lifeless body.

Flying free.

Knowing nothing.

Being part of everything.

Thinking of nothing. Remembering nothing. Knowing everything.

As we started our life, this is how we complete our final day…

Complete.

In the dark.

Oh, what a bright light!