Filing

Why do we file things? Or rather, perhaps a more apt question might be why do we not file them?

Filing our notes allows us to compartmentalize our information into organized units that makes referring back to them a much easier task. It is a practical and useful tool for organizing our minds and allows us to entertain new ideas from new sources while retaining our hold onto the present information, which we might have otherwise lost sight of.

When things are filed, they become a thing of the past, waiting to be tapped onto again, but exerting lesser influence onto the present.

When you file things away, you become more detached from them, because you no longer have the constant need to hold on to them anymore. When things are not filed, you may feel an underlying urgency to retain them lest it disppear in the next instant. In other words, filed items lose their priority and importance.

In a parallel vein, our responses towards daily life are often compartmentalized and categorized methodically by the efficient mind. We speak and act differently towards different groups of people, and these responses are constantly evolving as our perceptions change.

Similarly, on a subconscious level, we file different people into different categories. Perhaps the most familiar categorization known to everyone is as such: Stranger, acquiantance, friend, better friend, best friend. Such statuses are, however, dynamic and change all the time. As we interact with a person, our minds are constantly collecting information and probably conducting some sort of analysis of the information gathered. From this, we reinforce certain notions that are somewhat akin to how forces attract and repel. Negative responses result in a repelling force whereas positive responses warrant an attractive force.

Going back to the question, why then do we not file? Is it simply resistance towards change? Perhaps our attachment to these things are hindering us from filing it away. To file something means to relegate it to the back of our minds. We are assured that it will not disappear entirely because we have archived it, but because of this sense of security, its importance and relevance become diminished. On the same strand of thought, when we do file, perhaps we are wishing for its impact to be dulled and to be casted into a secondary role. Perhaps it is just a defensive mechanism for us to cope with overwhelming information and/or emotions. The art of filing - fight or flight?

So just file it all away.