|
Friday, June 24, 2005
Fleeting feelings
Proust's famous 'madeleine' moment: the smell of a fresh madeleine brought childhood memories flooding back, and hundreds of really dull pages ensued as he put them into words.
I don't know about you but I often get these waves of feelings that make me think I've totally figured out something really complicated, like how to live life to the full, or time travel, and yet when I try and pin it down and put it into words, it eludes me. It's that whiff of madeleine that puts your brain somewhere totally different and self-contained: you'd never be able to describe that to anyone, only you can experience it, and only in that way.
Sometimes I wake up having had a dream that does exactly that, making me feel emotions I felt when I was a teenager. But I don't remember the dream, and it's really weird since I have no idea where those feelings come from.
Those times when I think 'eureka!' are the most frustrating. I can be driving, watching TV, staring into space... and suddenly everything becomes clear and it all makes sense. But if I try and explain it to anyone, even myself, it's gone.
But it occurs to me that this isn't actually true. Just like deja-vu and alzheimer's, it's all just chemicals in the brain, electrical impulses, bits of jelly and goo. For most of us, most of the time, these combine to help us manage our daily lives. Occasionally they do freaky things and make us feel weird, and I reckon that's what Proust's 'madeleine' moment actually is: just a little short circuit in the brain that joins up bits that normally don't join up, resulting in the sensation of instantly reliving memories.
It's just a thought.
.....posted at 2:45 pm permalink
babyatom's
old BIG BLOGS
|
