Jackie - To Connect or Reconnect?

Last week I connected with a friend. I mean really connected.

The two of us have planned to get together for awhile, but it always seemed to fall though the cracks. As a fellow musician, she is constantly working on promote her music, book shows and teaching lessons on the side. And, well, I've already mentioned at least once that my schedule's a bit ridiculous these days. [Pondering this got me thinking about the difference between busyness and working hard, but that's beside the point.]

We had a long lunch last week at the Bangkok Cafe and I got a glimpse into the inner workings of someone I've only been able to respect from afar. And it was nice. I've always respected her musically, in fact, her music continues to be a inspiration for me to pursue my own. She is remarkably true to herself. And she is perpetually kind. All qualities I'd like to see in myself more.

Our lunch showed me how genuine those traits are.

It was one of the first warm days this spring, so my car smelled faintly of sunshine; and I as I drove away I replayed our conversation in my head which felt more like an intertwined journey through both of our lives. 

It wasn't one of those earth shattering conversations where we both open up about the deepest, darkest parts of our hearts, but it was profound because it was the first meaningful conversation I've had in quite a while. We talked about a recent situation in her life, our experiences with religion and spirituality, expectations for life and a little bit about the day-to-day.

It was real... honest... and I walked away looking at life a little bit different.

Our conversation was a nice reminder about living intentionally -- filling my life with the people I want to be a part of my world, getting to know people for what makes them tick, focusing in on what I really want my life to be about --  and shaping each day to reflect those things.

So often I get together with someone the conversation gets stuck on the menial, thoughts on current events and complaints against the world. And I hope to change that in the future.

Here's to future conversations with those in my world about what makes them tick, what experiences in their life have shaped who they are and what they're trying to do to leave their mark on this world.

[PS... I know the goal was to "reconnect" with someone from my past and I realize my third post is a little soon to start fudging the rules of the blog, but this particular conversation struck a chord. So, here's to March's Goal 3:: [Re]connect.]