You don’t have to travel very far to take a sentimental journey.

When was the last time you were in the same room, face to face, with a childhood friend or someone you grew up with? How about someone you went to high school with? A distant member of your family? An old mentor? What about people you worked with in one of your first jobs or one of your favorite jobs? Moving ahead and learning new things, meeting new people, and creating new experiences is one of the great gifts of a dynamic and expanding life, but it can also be satisfying to look back, to come together again⏤to reunite⏤with people from your past. Next time you are looking for something to do on an open and unfilled weekend, consider putting together a reunion.

It’s interesting to think about how many people have come into and out of your life over the years⏤the entrances and exits of various characters who appear for a time, and then leave for whatever reason. It’s likely that some passed through, and out of, your life completely, even though you assumed they would be there forever. This may not have been intentional, but life does have a way of moving on and constantly changing, and some relationships just slow to a trickle, or disappear altogether. With some people, you may not even realize how they are shaping you at the time, and their impact can only be understood when looking back. The importance of some people, places, and experiences only makes sense in hindsight.

A reunion is a great way to engage with the past, and to gain some perspective on the roles people played in your life. It gives you an opportunity to see familiar people through a new lens⏤the lens of time and experience. That colleague you used to clash with at your first job, you now realize was pushing you to step up your game. That teammate who used to talk so much at meetings, you now realize was a natural leader. That family member you never really spoke to, you now realize has so much they can teach you. Looking forward is important, yes, but looking backwards can be instructive in delightful ways.

What kind of reunion should you hold? That’s entirely up to you. It can be a family reunion, a work reunion, a school reunion, a team reunion, or any sort of gathering from the past. Were you trapped in a cave with 15 people for 10 days? Well, you can have a reunion with them, too. It’s almost always the case that if you take the time to put an event together, people will gladly join in because they, too, have an unrealized interest in, or longing for, that gathering. Instead of waiting for someone else to hold a reunion, consider doing it yourself. You will never regret time spent with people you like and respect.

Copyright 2023 Kesel Wilson (entirely, 100% human-created)

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