This morning (not actually this morning because it was so long ago that I started this post I don't really know when it was), I was doing my rounds with my favorite blogs, and Andrea's post challenged me to do something about the ugly feelings I have been having lately. I have no intention of going into the ugly here (at least not right now). Instead, I am taking up the "writing a little ode to my friend." Enjoy... and I hope that you can take out some time to remember your friends and appreciate them today, too!
Maurice and I became friends when we were in a class together. Actually we became friends after he used some IAF face to face communication tactics on me. (I don't really know if he was trained as a community organizer or if that kind of relationship building is just part of his personality.)
After class one day he told me about a volunteer project he was working on and that I was just the kind of person that he needed. He said I think you will be interested. Of course, I was. It was an intense thing to have someone that I didn't really know very well to have seen me.
There is always the chance that it was just a line that he used to get volunteers. It was certainly an approach I adopted after I joined not just his project but his organization and had to do recruiting for my own project. When I said it, it was never a line. I learned to listen more carefully to people's stories thanks to Maurice. I saw beyond many artifices and worked with folks on that project that previously I would not have had coffee with.
But back to Maurice. We became soul friends. That's the kind that don't have to see each other all the time to feel connected. We NEVER small talked. When we sat down to tea or a drink it was always straight to the heart of whatever we were thinking or feeling or dealing with.
Sometimes there was not even a need for words.
Some drama ensued the semester that I was away. I never heard about it from him. Some one else I knew tried to bring me into it and I refused. What she was saying just did not reflect the person I knew and loved.
Graduation came and we went in different directions. I to work and he to graduate school. Life's paths were completely different for us at that moment and for many years to come.
I looked for him for a bit when I moved back to California but he had already moved out of state.
Facebook once again made magic when we found each other there and then again when he announced over it that he was in San Francisco.
It had been over fifteen years since we had seen each other. But our talk that morning was as if we had only parted for a day. We had so much to catch up on and so little time. True to form we went straight to the heart of what had been going on for us in the past fifteen years.
Stopping only to look at each other in amazement and squeeze each other's hand. Wow. It is so wonderful to see you!
Being seen by Maurice is one of the most fantastic, loving experiences I have ever had.
Close connections that don't require close tending are special gifts from the universe. I am endlessly thankful.
Blessed be!
Maurice and I became friends when we were in a class together. Actually we became friends after he used some IAF face to face communication tactics on me. (I don't really know if he was trained as a community organizer or if that kind of relationship building is just part of his personality.)
After class one day he told me about a volunteer project he was working on and that I was just the kind of person that he needed. He said I think you will be interested. Of course, I was. It was an intense thing to have someone that I didn't really know very well to have seen me.
There is always the chance that it was just a line that he used to get volunteers. It was certainly an approach I adopted after I joined not just his project but his organization and had to do recruiting for my own project. When I said it, it was never a line. I learned to listen more carefully to people's stories thanks to Maurice. I saw beyond many artifices and worked with folks on that project that previously I would not have had coffee with.
But back to Maurice. We became soul friends. That's the kind that don't have to see each other all the time to feel connected. We NEVER small talked. When we sat down to tea or a drink it was always straight to the heart of whatever we were thinking or feeling or dealing with.
Sometimes there was not even a need for words.
Some drama ensued the semester that I was away. I never heard about it from him. Some one else I knew tried to bring me into it and I refused. What she was saying just did not reflect the person I knew and loved.
Graduation came and we went in different directions. I to work and he to graduate school. Life's paths were completely different for us at that moment and for many years to come.
I looked for him for a bit when I moved back to California but he had already moved out of state.
Facebook once again made magic when we found each other there and then again when he announced over it that he was in San Francisco.
It had been over fifteen years since we had seen each other. But our talk that morning was as if we had only parted for a day. We had so much to catch up on and so little time. True to form we went straight to the heart of what had been going on for us in the past fifteen years.
Stopping only to look at each other in amazement and squeeze each other's hand. Wow. It is so wonderful to see you!
Being seen by Maurice is one of the most fantastic, loving experiences I have ever had.
Close connections that don't require close tending are special gifts from the universe. I am endlessly thankful.
Blessed be!
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