I ran through the neighborhood from my hotel.

It didn’t feel familiar and I had no idea where I was going.

And then suddenly it was familiar. Throughout my run I felt pangs of familiarity. They were fleeting, but deeply tied to memories from long ago.

A time when the neighborhood looked different, and yet some buildings and businesses still remain. Buildings I would walk by, events I attended, friends whose houses I played at over 20 years ago.

I was running through my childhood hometown. I knew I was in the right town, but I don’t know the area well enough as an adult to have any idea that I was near my elementary school…until seeing it.

I wish I could better describe these feelings. It was pretty nuts.

One house felt familiar. I don’t know why, but it makes me wonder if I had a friend that lived there.

Another block gave me a similar feeling. I think I probably walked by the buildings on that block regularly. I could tell that my body recalled specific memories that happened in that area, though my mind couldn’t recall just what those memories were beyond fleeting glimpses as if recalling a dream that isn’t quite vivid enough to hold onto its memory.

How do our bodies carry memories that our minds do not?

I wrote yesterday about decisions of the heart. This experience furthers my instinctual understanding that our gut/heart/some other force can figure things out that our thoughts and brains haven’t quite caught up with. A force that we would probably be well served to get in touch with and heed.