I met a new friend when I was taking the wild and raw food workshop at my friend Julie’s house. She’s a very private person so I’m not going to tell you much about her specifically. But what I wanted to write about is the connection we can sometimes feel for another person.
I’ve come to understand that I live my life with some hefty barriers put up around me, much as I’d like to think otherwise. I am extremely busy and can get easily overwhelmed so I’m not, quite honestly, looking to invite more people—new people—into my life. As most of you know I need a lot of time alone. I thrive in my self-induced solitude. In fact I’ve always been the kind of person who maintains a couple of deep friendships, rather than juggling a whole passel of lesser friends. My friends become my family of choice.
But when I meet someone like this new friend, I must stop and take notice. I need to acknowledge a connection, a pull. This woman sort of sparkles—at least to me she does. She is incredibly accomplished at the things I admire most: living deeply, on her own terms, in her own way. She lives high on the mountain and grows all her own food. She sustains herself and her art without doing any kind of traditional work. She has a couple of pack animals and grows some of her own wool. And she has done this for decades. This is a person I will do well to make time for.
She has invited me to hike with her up on the mountain, a place I’ve been drawn to, but shy about exploring on my own. She thinks it will be good for me to “get out on the trails” and I believe she’s right. I need some time away from the computer. I even need time away from the easel—time out in nature to restore and refill.
I was trying to describe her to Kim (my other surprising new friend) the other day, and what I kept coming back to is that she is grounded and real and accepting, settled. She seems to watch closely; she misses nothing. She is interested. She is calm and quiet and she delights easily. These qualities spread out from her like ripples on a pond—soft and gentle.
So I’m going to take down my walls, as I can, and invite this lovely person in. I believe she may be the respite I’ve been aware of needing—hand delivered by Spirit. How does one say no to that?
Love to you all,
Jeane
The quiet and profound gifts, those that are most easily missed if one isn’t tuned in, are probably the most important. Clearly, those are the kind offered here. Clearly you are listening to a message about connecting in new ways to the restorative and disconnecting in some ways from the more familiar, louder elements that can make it hard to reach for the gentle, meditative, space your heart seems to be opening to. We all need to stop and listen, don’t we….
Yes, I do believe we all need to stop and listen and that, when we do, we are almost always rewarded.
Lovely, she sounds a testament to your listening heart. And souls ever vigilant ears tuned to beings of light perfectly tuned to your life’s melody.
A being of light–that’s a great way to describe her!
🙂
What a lovely opportunity ,,, thanks for sharing.
She’s a pretty remarkable woman–one I want to emulate.