Wonderbringers Newsletter with Monica Parker
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[For the month of August 2025, I’m taking a small break and running August Repeats, a repeat of some of the most popular Wonderbringers through the years.
Here’s one from May 2024.]
Hello wonderseekers!
Memories are funny things. Useful of course - to recall where you put your keys (I’m not so good at this) or not to put your hand on a hot stove (fractionally better at this one). And, of course, they evolved for precisely that sort of usefulness, survival obviously hinging on recalling certain patterns or threats. Wonder likely evolved as a way to embed memories in long-term learning; the more potent the emotion, the deeper the memory. They are useful for our mental health as well. Negative memories tend to soften with age, as we find their silver linings in time, and recalling happy memories reduces our future stress response.
But memories hold more than usefulness. They connect us to our past selves. As the popular song goes, they “light the corners of my mind.” Memories allow us to reflect on who we were and consider who we have (or would like to) become. And, of course, as we lose our memory, we lose parts of ourselves. The philosopher John Locke said our past memories are what give us a sense of identity.
Scientists want to study how our memories create our sense of self using what they call the “Life Story Matrix.” They found there was one critical feature in our memories that gave us greater life satisfaction. More about that, and how you can create your own “Life Story Matrix,” below.
Some wonderbringers for me this week:
The Lasting Power of Good Memories: A positive spin on our past can help inure us against pain.
The children who remember their past lives: What happens when your toddler is haunted by memories that aren’t hers?
Our brains do not form perfect archives but music makes memories clearer: A video clip with Princeton neuroscientist Jamal Williams from the film The Arc of Oblivion.
What is your earliest memory?
With wonder,
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