memory

Thinking about memory, I picture my grandmother.

I cannot retain a static image of my grandmother in my mind. It seems involuntarily mutable. Still, I feel that I am consistently thinking about my grandmother.

I 'see' in my mind's eye impressions of my grandmother, somewhat visual, somewhat emotional. I 'see' a part of her kitchen as well, but not her in it. I then 'see' her in her cottage. I can 'hear' the sound of her voice, but I do not understand the actual words.

These impressions are all fleeting, but unified by a common theme.

This inclines me to think that recollection of memory is a dynamic process of the brain, possibly similar to the playing of a film strip. -That memory is a merging of re-experienced impressions, unified by a common theme, 'played' in quick succession.

If I think of my grandfather, I get different impressions. However, the same view of their kitchen appears in the sequence.

I would guess the memories of my grandfather and grandmother are not wholly discrete in process, or in the function of my brain.