Today I let the memories start again. 

With the food you see here, that is. 

Who knew that they would come with a sandwich? 

I didn’t know that this one thing was going to be a part of my day until a good food memory came to me. 

The feeling of an easier time came back to me with a simple egg salad sandwich. 

Food has brought me strength, tasty treats, joy, sweet moments and then memories like this one today.

And a time when a sandwich was all that was needed for the day to be perfect. Sitting next to a friend or a cousin or a sibling as a kid while we ate a sandwich. 

The sudden thought came along with questions that trailed along in quick succession. 

What will happen if I actually eat an egg again? 

Will this sandwich taste the same as it did when I was a kid? 

What’s the worst thing that can happen? 

Am I as brave as I was as an eight-year-old? 

Oh, the smile that appeared on my face almost demanded that each answer be found. 

Shall we begin? 

Yes! 

To do that I’ll let you in on a bit of history. 

There are some good food memories that have stayed as memories.

There are some good food memories that have stayed as memories because I do not eat the same things I have in the past. 

That would include meat and most other animal products. Yes, like eggs and milk. For some reason I totally lost the taste for each of them many decades ago. 

For me to even think of this simple memory based on food is like me going back to a person I used to be and who I was with before now.  

I even thought about different recipes of the egg salad and then went with the one I know. 

It was as if my memories showed me the way and kept it simple as the questions began to be answered. 

It’s time to start by asking about what will happen. Nothing will happen! 

Isn’t that amazing? 

This idea and choice are mine, if I’m going to choose it, so let’s keep going. 

Seems easy enough. 

Memories are what can be done as we step into the next piece because will the sandwich even taste the same? 

Perhaps that has happened to you! 

You have a good memory in your mind.

You think about something and have a good memory in your mind. 

There is a picture of how it was before and what it should be now. 

Then, there is the thought of what will happen IF it’s not the same. 

Oh Lands! 

What will happen if it’s not the same? It would be better to leave the good memory and the food in the past and not tempt fate, or the taste buds.

And then what will happen if it IS the same. 

Mmmm. 

Wait, wait, wait. 

The progression is building here, my friends. 

I picture the good memories of food, how it tasted in my childhood when I have the sandwich.

The worst that can happen also builds up in my mind as I picture the good memories of food, how it tasted in my childhood, how it could happen when I have the sandwich in my hand. 

Could it be better than I expected?

Now is the time for me to be present and also hold onto the memory. 

You’ll see that I am also building up to the bravery of an eight-year-old. 

The final step to being in this moment also brought me to other memories. 

Interestingly some of them were tied to food as well as other people who have been in my life.

Like when the popcorn was popping, and fries were being dipped in sauce with another tall kid. 

Was it about the food or about the people? 

I’m beginning to think the memories are about the people. 

That is something for us to continue thinking about as we continue. 

Now is when I decided that yes, again and again, the good food memory is what I can choose today and tomorrow. 

Here is what I now know. 

A good food memory doesn’t always need to stay in the past.

A good food memory doesn’t always need to stay in the past. Sometimes, we can bring it forward again to hold it gently again. 

Like the people who have been there along with the tasty treats. 

Holding the sandwich in my hand felt comfy and the smile returned to my face.

You see, each of these questions took only seconds to run through in my mind. 

Then being present returned and the first bite into a soft egg salad sandwich took place. 

The what-ifs were replaced with ‘oh yes, there it is’ alongside the tastes of what can be started again. 

What if that is the new part of being brave? 

Holding the good memory with what we have with us, here and now. 

I’m here to do it with you, my friends.

Another space is here for me. 

It seems that it comes even when I love where I am. 

Even when I have become quite comfy with the steps that have become known to me. 

The sun is showing me the way again this time so I will go with it as it is also going up to a higher ground. 

Being at the end of this space is also being near the beginning of a new one so I will go forward with that in my rhythm. 

This time, what the sun showed me came as the peak of summer rolled into view and I sat with the one who is my compass star. 

We were sitting in our comfy places and asking what we could do next. 

Comfort is the thing we had created in our spaces to be able to bring a pause. 

The sun had been shining high above just moments before and now it was time to talk.

This came as we developed a deeper way to take our discussion up a notch. 

Love can do that, and it did for us. 

Do you believe in love that can last for a lifetime? 

I do. In fact, what you may also see here is a twinkle of what can last even longer than that. 

The light is catching our eyes, and we are in the middle of life. 

Not too sparkly, not too pristine. Life was moving fast this day, so a picture was taken quickly before the moment was gone. 

This was something I learned to do decades ago so it continues now. 

Capture the light and shine and keep going. 

I go with the flow and rhythm of going up to a higher ground.

There is a song that comes to me often when I go with the flow and rhythm of going up to a higher ground. 

You Take Me Up by the Thompson Twins starts with a toe tapping beat and quickly adds in more as the lyrics bring in a story. 

It is one that weaves through hard work, friends and love.  

There is a part of this song that brings both a solo then the harmony of a group together. 

Let’s think about that for a moment. 

Can life be like that? 

Being on your own in hard work can make some people go around and around. 

Planning, scheduling, being in all the places on your own. 

It is also where a person is able to know what to do next, how to get things completed and the joy of finding their resilience. 

Is this when higher ground is found?

Is this when higher ground is found? 

Looking for someone to join you on the daily grind of life can be another piece to think about going solo. 

Or to join someone for an adventure once in a while.

When is there a time to bring in others to help go up to higher ground? 

For me, deciding when to plan on my own and when to bring on someone is part of what this song brings to me each time I turn up the volume and dance. 

Hard work is what I have relied on for another lifetime and what I have been able to count on. 

It’s up to me and the hours I put in.

Yet this doesn’t really create harmony when seeking a way to take others up to a higher ground. 

Oh yeah. 

That’s what this can also be all about. Not only putting myself in or taking myself out. 

There was a childhood song before and now it is time to go into this next version of the space. 

My heart is no longer at odds with hard work as the rhythm of life as it is also about friends. 

In fact, the glimmer of life is all about this best friend as we go about life with love.

I will go back to this again and again.

Having friends who will have your back, side and all your pieces. 

That is the work of this realm. 

Coming up to higher ground where the two steps of this dance feel joyful, with next answers and alongside all who want to be here.

Let the sun show you what is possible as you go to your higher ground.