The other day, Terri and I went to eat at a place that was once a major part of my everyday life. Back then, I knew everyone and everyone knew me. That night was different. I sat in the same restaurant that was once my livelihood for years surrounded by strangers.
It was a strange feeling. Off-putting. As if we’d stepped into a photograph where the background remained the same, but all the faces had changed. However, upon closer inspection, the background had undergone significant changes as well. Our experience was a harsh reminder that time moves forward, people move on, and once familiar places become unfamiliar. I can’t say that this makes me happy. Honestly, there is grief within this loss.
I remain grateful for the memories, while being very mindful of the present moment. We can’t go back and even if we could, I’m not sure we should. It’s hard to focus on what’s in front of you if you’re constantly looking in the rearview mirror.
I’m thankful for the life I live and for the people I live it with it.
Until my next post…
Be salty, stay lit.
Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™
#bgbg2#BibleGateway
The Stigma Stops Here.🛑
#mentalhealthmatters
The Devotional Guy™ 
Will do.
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Always a pleasure! Give Terri hugs 🤗
—Jodi
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Thank you, Dana. I’m glad you found a dose of encouragement and inspiration in my words. Thanks for reading and commenting. Have a wonderful, blessed day.
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Thanks you for this thoughtful response to my post today, Jodi. Yes, I’ve come to realize that grief and gratitude can coexist, as do mourning and celebration, beauty and ashes. Gratitude is and always has been a game changer throughout the generations. We shouldn’t weep more at our impending departure than we do our current existence. There is a time for all of these things, as Solomon says. Life has taught me that it is a both/and experience more than an either/or. I pray you have a rich, blessed day. Thanks so much for reading and commenting on my post.
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There is a kind of grief in knowing we can’t go back. Thank you for inspiring us to be grateful for our memories and mindfully present.
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Good Morning my friends! Bravo 👏 I say!
Your personal reflections in “One Man’s Retrospective” moved me deeply.
I could feel the quiet ache of walking into a once beloved place that now feels filled with strangers; familiar in form, but foreign in essence.
Naming that grief takes courage; this tender acknowledgment of how much the past shapes us, and how hard it can be to face change … even when it’s gentle.
At the same time, I was dumbstruck by the gratitude woven like threads of gold through your words … grateful for memories, for the people in your life now, and for the “here and now” that currently surrounds you.
I am grateful this morning for your SOLID reminder that “we can’t go back—and even if we could, I’m not sure we should” …
This felt like a powerful invitation:
to honor the past … yeah 👍 but to do that – while living FULLY in the present.
You stirred a memory in me; an echo of a time I returned to my childhood home and discovered that the house was the same, but I was different. It was that bittersweet realization that life moves forward, regardless, and gratitude and grief CAN INDEED coexist.
Thank you for sharing your heart so honestly. I’ll be carrying your words with me as a call to remember where we’ve been, but also to shine where we are.
🙏 Until your next post, may grace and presence continue to accompany you both 🙏
—Jodi
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