Look at the pictures. Watch the videos. Those images and scenes from your past tell stories. They remind you of times, of feelings, of experiences. 

Play the songs. Those old songs from different seasons of your life. Sing along. The lyrics are embedded in your brain. 

Recall the days, the weeks, the months, the years, the decades. How did those seasons bring joy? How did they provide pain? How did they shape you into the person you are now? 

As I wrote Things We’ve Handed Down: Twelve Letters I Leave for You, I focused on books that impacted my life and the lessons I learned from those books. But I also included stories. Some recent; some from long ago, but all stories that influenced me. 

If you wrote a book about lessons learned from books, what books would you select? What lessons would you choose to include? What songs would you add? What stories would you tell? 

I don’t always make great decisions. But as I was writing this book and processing the many lessons from my many years, I knew I needed to talk to someone. Not the counselors I had previously talked to. Not the many friends I frequently talk to. Not the family members who know me so well. But I needed new eyes to see me and new ears to hear these old stories as I was putting them on paper. So, I spoke with someone I had not talked to before. 

And that’s my suggestion here. That’s my suggestion for you. 

Find someone to talk to. Not just anyone. The right person. Contact them. Set up an appointment. Bring them those pictures and songs and stories. Hand to them what has been handed down to you. 

Then keep with you what you’ve learned—until it’s time to hand it down.