the first session of "The Work" that i did involved my feelings of fear and frustration over someone in my life (not friend or family, just someone i am forced to interact with in my life). afterward i went to grab a bite with a friend who was also at the session with me who also knows the person i had just done "Work" on. in our conversation, my friend mentioned to me that on one occasion our mutual acquaintance told her in all seriousness that she doesn't really have friends because they are too much work and she prefers it that way.this has been rolling around in my brain a lot since i heard it. i think of the myriad ways my life is blessed because of my friends - even those i am not that close to, and CERTAINLY by those i hold especially dear to my heart. i feel compassion for any being who would see relationships with others as a chore rather than a treasure. after that day, i really just can't see her as scary and mean as i used to. obviously there is no way for me to know if she truly doesn't want friends because they are a bother, or that is a smokescreen - and it really is none of my business. yet, i can't help imagining life without all the awesome people i count as friends.
in fact, i just reconnected with a college friend today who i haven't seen in person for about 12 years. and i came away from that meeting with the feeling that i am glad i know him. that got me thinking about how glad i am that i know so many of the people that i do. i am trying to contrive a way to let people know that i appreciate them and their contribution both to my life and to our collective experience here on this most amazing of planets.
i think of my mother - considered quite poor by typical standards - and i think what a rich life she has had and does have because of the people she has made connections with - TRUE CONNECTION. i know that it's cliche to say that there are more important things than money, and i bitch about not having money on a fairly regular basis - but the truth is i love my life. i love my life because of all the wonderful people i have in my life. so here's to all the people i love - *SMOOTCH*
ah...micheal franti just started playing on my ipod. nice.
and the following pics are a mere representation of the people in my life who rock and is by no means a definitive list. :)
Ahhhhhhhhh! YES!! I made the list!!
ReplyDeleteof course you did lady! you for sure make my life better because i know you.
ReplyDeleteI'm honored to be included in the list twice despite not meeting you yet. I realize that it's probably because those two pictures are amazing representations of two loved ones, and I am just along for the ride. But I also realize that you are someone who will bless my life in the future, a peep by proxy. I look forward to the day we finally meet.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about the peeps in my life. That my life is better because they are in it. My college peeps will always have a place in my soul, and I miss them all. They all have small pieces of my heart. They helped me become the Jules I am today. And now, after three years in Portland, I have a new family to call my own. And everyone is so amazing. I am truly blessed to have met Jen and all of the people who come with her. Because without her, my life would be totally different than it is right now. And it would be a sad thing, indeed. I have to wonder if I hadn't asked Jen to go out on St. Paddy's Day last year if the universe would have brought me together with JR and the peeps anyway. I hope so. Because I just can't imagine life without everyone I know now.
Thank you for posting this. It's always nice to remember that life is only as rich as the people who grace it on a daily basis. Blessed doesn't even begin to cover it. Take care.
jules, i also found it amusing that you are in not one, but two of the pictures though we have not met :) (by the way thank you for having pictures of my fam for me to steal from you). i agree with you though, that i am sure we have much to share, and i consider you one of my peeps by proxy. see you in a few weeks!
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