Anchor Memories and Reclaiming Joy

Remembering and reconnecting with our anchor memories...

I think we have anchor memories in life, the ones that ground us and bring us back to ourselves.

When did life start becoming something we manage, instead of something we experience?

Have you ever stopped and thought about how long days felt when we were younger?

How there was always time to look up at the clouds or stars…

Or look for four leaf clovers…

Or pick flowers…

Or just find a place to explore or something to create?

It’s funny how life is different now.

The days feel endless and fly by in the blur…

And there is never enough time.

Daydreaming is replaced by deadlines.

We've lost the memories we used to think nothing of — the ones that now mean so much to us.

We’d lay in the grass and count the stars or guess the shape of clouds.

Where we’d sit by a tree and read a book…

Laugh and ride bikes, or jump rope, or play hide and seek…

Or just go out and explore…

Days we’d wake up excited about …

The ones that made our hearts feel full because we got to play with our friends.

It was all so fun and so simple.

All it took was time outside, or inside with a coloring book, Legos, or board game.

So much joy, for so little.

That memory, that feeling is an anchor, which brings you back to you.

It got me thinking, do I remember what those things are?

Do I remember how they felt? And why?

We get stuck in the cycle of work, or chores, or errands and forget the simple things that used to bring us so much joy.

We lose our anchor memories that ground us and bring us right back to who we are.

As adults, we do less of the things that fill our hearts with happiness, laughter and love.

When did the routines that were supposed to organize our lives start taking over them?

Think about the things that you loved to do as a child, memories that brought you joy.

What do those anchor memories look like for you?

What would it feel like to have those moments now?

Maybe it’s five minutes with a coloring book.

Maybe it’s going outside just to look at the sky.

Maybe it’s doing something you used to love, with no reason other than that it still makes you smile.

Are you excited about doing something, does your heart feel full, are you smiling just thinking about it?

Back to the person who saw the world with wonder and curiosity.

To the person who explored and played with imagination.

Back to the person who wondered who you would become and was excited to find out.

That younger version of you never disappeared. They’re still there.

Find them.

They’re still within you.

Waiting to play, to explore, to create.

Waiting for you.