Day 3 - 2 -- Reflecting on Past Experiences

This afternoon I spent several hours purging old files from the e-mail inbox. Several folders were completed, while there are many left to tackle. I generally keep course communications for a year and committee messages for longer. So, sorting through things can get tricky. I was amazed at some of the things I'd actually saved. That seems an indication of how crazy things were at that moment that I managed to save four messages rather than only the final response in the chain. Other messages really said next to nothing, yet I saved them. <sigh>. It was interesting to revisit some of the conversations and decision-making trails after a few years. After getting through the few folders today, there were many files deleted so there should be a bit more space left for the next term messages. I'd like to do one folder daily, but I know this won't hold once we hit the ground running on Monday. A virus has infected my home computer and the flash drive I use for course slides and materials -- so any updates done since before Christmas are gone -- unless they can be retrieved by IT. Things will work out, just not as smoothly as intended with the need to redo things.

Revisiting past experiences can be enlightening. How negative and positive topics were dealt with can clarify any revisionist memories one has about a situation. The many aspects of an issue become clear again, rather than the one big one that we tend to recall. Upon re-reading messages today, subtle details became clearer in retrospect. I find it interesting that minds can sometime oversimplify things into a dichotomy -- us and them -- rather than all of us in this together. No doubt, it helps to have a bit of time and space to do the review. I will try to do further file clearing with a dedicated 30 or 60 minutes to ensure that I have the time to capture the positives from the purges.

Several songs ran through my mind today. I chose one that hasn't been used here before. The lyrics speak to the process of reflection while the singer gently delivers the words and phrases. Enjoy!

Memories -- Elvis Presley