Dialogue: Looking Back...

These past few months I have noticed that I am reaching out to friends from elementary school, high school, and college.  Is this due to the COVID "stay at home" orders?  Restrictions on travel resulting in cancellation of vacation plans?  More time to clean out closets and come across long forgotten treasures?

Or, is it just the time of life to reflect on the past and wonder about the future?

Whichever reasons are causing these memories, I am enjoying these re-connections and re-unions:  connecting and uniting various aspects of my life!

How often do you live in the past... how it "used to be"?
(Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany)

I am reminded how interconnected time is: past, present, and future.  For instance, when I am in a conversation with someone, I am sometimes conscious that a phrase spoken may bring forward an image from the past; a nod, smile, or folded arms may remind me of a family member who has similar mannerisms; or a difficult conversation may resurrect conflicts I have had with others.

I sometimes struggle to be present to that person as my mind draws me back to past memories, behaviors, and conclusions.

Do you notice the new rising from the old?
(The Shard, London, England)

As I attempt to practice my dialogue skills of slowing down, noticing, and asking questions, I experience a moving forward... rising from the older ways of reacting to a more thought-filled response that connects and unites.

Like the phoenix rising from the ashes of destruction, I have found that sharing earlier stories and memories allows us to piece together what we had buried or forgotten over time.  Do you remember...?   I didn't realize...  I wonder what happened...

Are you able to balance -- in the present --
both past memories and future desires?
(San Diego Zoo Safari Park)

Whether COVID-inspired or age-related, I am enjoying the relationships that are being renewed, learning from the life paths friends have explored, and the interesting facts that are being discovered about where we were, where we are, and where we want to go.

Together, with shared memories, living in the present, and dialoguing forward, we protect one another by inviting reflection and sharing how we see our world emerging.

Blessings as you look back, reflect and enjoy... and move forward with those you love!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

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