Scribbling about the Thread of our Lives

The trees outside my window are an amazing spectacle of color, ranging from dark green to burnt orange, gold, red and amber. Another season is upon us as we approach the excitement of the holidays. As we age, we look forward to another chapter in the parade of seasons. What will it bring? In my case, it brings memories. I can travel back through past autumns and relive those that still reside in my memory banks. I am sure that many autumns have slipped from my recall. I now wish that I had written about the thread of my life as it passed through the years. While I still retain the memories of the early autumn color during the visit to Yosemite for my daughter’s wedding and the creeping band of color in Vermont as we drove to another business appointment, I realize that, this year, each day brings its own vivid imagery to my windows. In my 78^th year, I now understand that I can assist my memory’s capacity by making scribbles about what I see and hear as the days pass.

While the notes to myself that I am now creating are merely reminders to me about these snapshots of time, they are important in several ways. They will endure so that I can, as the years pass into my 80’s, once again remember “that day” in 2025 that was filled with color. These notes also provide an open door for me to travel back through my memory to other times and other places that, once again, become vivid. My memory is enhanced because, while I am jotting down sentences about today, I am exercising my “neurons” and enabling my memory to maintain or expand its capacity over time.

I will continue to make my small notes and hope that you will join me as we move through time and record, in small notes, the thread of our lives. Its really very simple. Open your computer or find a scrap of paper. Strike a key or make a letter on the page. The first letter is the most difficult. From there, simply write a sentence. Even a simple sentence can, in the future, spark a memory which, in turn, maintains or expands our memory capacity.

Aging  is a transition. Our memories record our transitions from which we continue to gain perspective. Safe Harbor Pathways is dedicated to exploring life’s transitions. Join us on the safe harbor pathway through life transitions at safeharborpathways.com. You can email me at bill@safeharborpathways.com.