Memories

Saturday morning, after dropping my wife’s car at the dealership for an oil change, I walked up to a local coffee shop and enjoyed a very good Americano. It was the perfect temperature — just the right amount of oat milk and Splenda — so much so that I had to pause from my journaling and simply sip. Mindful eating and drinking is something I’ve read about but rarely implement. That moment, I actually did it.

Then came the text that it was time to walk back. I put on my headphones, and Malagueña by the Stan Kenton Orchestra came on.

Almost instinctively, I began to conduct.

You see, Malagueña was a piece I played in marching band in high school — and I was drum major. I graduated 36 years ago. But for that brief moment walking down the sidewalk, I was back on the field, under the lights.

Recalling positive memories and genuinely engaging with them is a reminder of the competencies you possess, how they shape your present, and how they light the runway for the future.

What’s a memory from your past — a skill, a moment, a version of yourself — that you’ve lost touch with, and what might it still have to teach you today?