Sponge

Soap and sponge is the best match.

The image of a sponge is always together with bubbles. Why is that so? Images are formed from actual events or seemingly actual events in our life that gets played over and over. When we think of sponges, it has always to do with our relaxing bubble bath, dishes in the kitchen sink, or even the much needed car wash. Everything has to do with soap and bubbles. Thus, our mind correlates sponge with soap.

We learn very much from all our senses. Most often we remember the events that we see and imagine events that we hear. When both are combined, our mind would create a video that gets replayed so many times that it would automatically become a norm. We may not realize it. We do not need to remind ourselves of it. It is easily recalled when the time comes, when we need to use information in the archives.

Photographic memory is a much better way to remembering things that we encounter in text books. No offence, but history used to be the subject I deter most. It is of past events, and I seriously have no interest in the happenings of the former. I never understood why we have to study history and get a minimum credit for it in order to continue schooling. Now that internet is available easily, I finally understand the importance of this subject. It is by historical events that we learn to excel in the future.

More and more people are making videos of topics of interest to them. There are passionate historians already taking efforts to develop and spread their knowledge in history to the public via videography. Perhaps this is the best way to create interest on artifacts and fossils. The ancient history is always interesting and mysterious. Though I cannot still remember which event happen in what year but it is enough to remind me that we are living in an era whereby technology make history.

People become interested in movies like Indiana Jones and the Mummy. Though most of the storyline is fictional, there are some truth in the tombs and pyramids that they visit. Even when our curiosity strikes, we should be humble in search of the truth. There are always bad guys in movies and they nevertheless get caught. So, the lesson we all should learn from excavation and exploration movies is to pack yourself with the necessary knowledge before jumping into conclusion. Respect everyone and everything we encounter.

The human brain serves like a sponge. It has the ability to soak up information and when full, it needs a little squeeze to create more space for additional material.

There are many self-help books out there we can learn from. In this age and time, information is abundant. Everyone wants to be an informer. Which information suits us better? Which information is the truth? Which information we can safely use?

Whilst our brain can be a sponge in all circumstances, we can also train our brain to riddle out the sand and dirt. Sponges have voids, which are of uneven sizes. We can use the bigger voids to soak up information, sieve them through the smaller voids, and finally storing them in the core, to be used later. How many times have you encountered that the sponge cannot be thoroughly cleaned no matter the amount of water you use, or the length of time you try to clear soap out?

This is the fact of life. Sometimes, some things are meant to be. There are incidents that happen in our life that we do not want to remember but they seem to be there all the time. We feel bothered. We feel like the world is tumbling down on us. Perhaps it is time for us to recognize that everything happens in life happen for a reason. The occasion that we very much want to forget is often the turning point that makes us better than who we used to be. It is part and parcel of growing and nurturing life.

We learn from the past. We soak up information. We sieve the good ones to be stored and help us later when we need it. We get drenched. We squeeze that bulk into tiny bubbles and we are ready to absorb again. Life is as such. Choose the soap wisely.

Be a sponge. Spend as much time as possible with people who truly know their craft and be a great listener. That is how you learn.     

Jerry Colangelo, American businessman and sports executive, 1939-present