Food For Thought

Dear J,

I woke up slightly before my alarm this morning (a rare phenomenon that only seems to occur on days it would actually be acceptable to sleep in). I  recently changed the iPhone alert from "Alarm" to "Wake up little lady!" because really, who needs to start their day off in a state of alarm? Certainly not me. After perusing the usual messages in my inbox to help wake up my brain (I secretly believe Groupon/LivingSocial/bloomspot are conspiring to make me go bankrupt),  I came upon your email. To say that I was touched is an understatement. If I'm honest, after reading the last line, "You are an amazing writer/blogger and if you are not getting paid to write in some way, shape or form, I hope someday you do. " I felt the warmth of tears running down my face as I let out a relieved chuckle to my otherwise quiet room. Even copying it here, now, has caused the prickling of tears to reappear in the corner of my eyes (note to self: you work with all men. do not cry at desk). Just yesterday I posted the blog you so kindly responded to and I went to bed feeling a tad vulnerable. I always feel this way when I post something of personal sentiment. Will anyone even care to read this? Have I divulged too much? Am I making any damn sense at all? Your words instantly lifted my spirits and provided the necessary encouragement to log in again.

When we share with one another something remarkable happens--we connect in a way I believe human beings were designed to be connected.  We are united in both our joy and our pain; our differences and similarities.  We are joined by that fact that we are all doing the best we can with what we know...and most of the time, we have no idea what we're doing! People just want to feel like they count. That they matter.  That they hold space in the world. Hell, sometimes I think people just want to feel like they exist. Have you ever noticed that? How saying "thank you" to a bus driver before exiting at your stop or making eye contact with your neighborhood Starbucks barrista while you order seems to shift a frequency between us? How the simple act of acknowledging another person, of essentially saying "you are, just as I am", can elicit an almost tangible change in vibrations, mood, energy? It's a powerful thing, human connection. It is, in many ways, the only true form of magic.  I'm afraid our world sometimes forgets to cherish this art.

Thank you for trusting me with your story; for being open and honest and vulnerable. Please know that you are not alone and in reaching out to me you helped me remember that I am not alone, either. I deeply appreciate this.

So today, sweet friend, my Food For Thought is for you. It comes from one of my favorite books, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky.

Let's make a pact, shall we? A pact to show up, to be present and grateful. With or without us, life moves forward--it is always flowing and changing. To feel fully alive and infinite all we need to do is really be here. Trust the process. Be true to you. Excercise patience and forgiveness.  The Universe will take care of the rest.

Sending a you a million good thoughts,

Trish