Thought 1: Connecting In Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

Seeing other people...really seeing them is one of the most difficult things to do. When we look at someone we are interpreting what we are seeing according to our own experiences, understanding, and knowledge. But to really see someone is the art of not making it about the person looking, but about the person being seen. What is their story? What does what we are seeing mean to them (not us). Under this definition most people spend their lives drawing self centered conclusions about others. Connecting with others in meaningful ways means to see THEM.

Facetime VS. Facebook Time

I recently spent an amazing evening with two truly engaged and delightful friends.  We talked about our life mission and our divine purpose over pizza and drinks around a kitchen table while it poured rain outside.  It was provocative and thoughtful.  There was laughter and story telling and connecting in meaningful and purposeful ways as we explored and worked through a chain of ideas.  I felt alive, engaged, energized and more driven in my "becoming that which is my highest good".  The time just flew by - we started at 6PM, after a long 8 hour day at work, and we didn't wrap it up until 9PM.  On the drive home I thought about how full the evening had made me.  I was full of pizza and drink, but also, I was full of ideas and thoughts and new concepts and new ways of looking at old concepts and it felt so very good.  These times of true "face time" invited me to truly feel alive, more connected, dynamically a part of the big scheme of things.  Real time with those I truly connect with and who inspire me, challenge me, who provoke and question, and who accept me for who I am and what I bring to the table even if we don't agree.  It is liberating to be able to share one's mind without thought of being anything other than engaged, sharing, and moving through ideas and thoughts, threads of understanding, and evolving concepts.  It is one of the highest honors that I can have in my life to have people like these two wonderful beings that I can connect with, to spend time with, to celebrate and explore with.  This evening was, for me, one of those moments of ecstasy and loveliness that Sarah Teasdale writes of in her poem Barter:

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

Blessings to my dear friends and deep gratitude to a truly lovely evening.

Day 64: Connecting in Profound Ways

A child's footprints in the sand...I follow along the same path, and the tiny footprints make me smile as I think about how that little person must have been in awe at the beauty and wonder of St. Andrews Park, in Panama Beach, Florida.  The sun is warm on my shoulders as I walk along the boardwalk that crosses the dunes to the beach.  The cry of seabirds is mixed with the sound of beach goers laughing and playing in the deep blue green water of the Gulf.  This jewel of a preserve, where beauty and wonder abound, invites the tired soul to soak in the Florida sun, on pristine white sand beaches; to wander the park, marveling at the wild life; and to connect with nature and the rhythms of life unfettered my man's dictates and imperatives.  There is something truly liberating about lying down in the sand, at the base of a dune, pressed against the warm sand, sun drenched azure sky overhead, and the ocean's inviting rhythm slowly rocking my mind to a place of relaxation.  There is peace to be found in the natural balance of sea, sand, and sky.  As complex as the human condition can be, nature provides a delightful counterpoint.  Spending time immersed in the rhythms of St. Andrews sparks in me a sense of understanding of Thoreau's need for and connection to Walden Pond.  Human complexities can oftentimes be seen as resonating with the principles found in nature. This park is a moving orchestration of natures best and offers the traveler a myriad of opportunities to connect in more profound ways with self and with the world at large.