The Gift of a Name

Remembering names. I am soooo envious of people who can remember names, not only of people, but of movies, songs, books, and everything else that comes with a name. The other day in group we played song Jeopardy. I knew so many songs but I couldn’t remember the songs or the artist’s names.

I read somewhere that the reason people’s names are hard to remember is because they don’t relate to the person. Sure, sometimes you might meet someone named Jack who looks like a “Jack.” But what does “Jack” mean? Inherently, it means nothing. At least it means nothing in relation to the person. It takes me serious repetition to learn someone’s name. I have to see them daily for at least a week and hear their name just as often.

It can be so embarrassing not being able to remember someone’s name. It’s embarrassing to yell out, “Oh! I know this song!” and not be able to tell anyone what it is. I hate struggling to tell someone the name of a movie or book that I just explained the plot to, and it’s clear that I know what I’m talking about all the way up to the name.

One of my therapists said that trauma victims often experience memory problems. I hope that if I am able to go through trauma therapy and process the trauma I’ve been through the names of everything come flashing back to me! Oh, how glorious it would be if I was talking to someone about a song that I like and could tell them the name of the song without hesitation. What a gift!