So, today I had one of those moments when a memory rushes over you and you are completely taken to a different place. I was drenched in the memory of a person who means a lot to me. Something small triggered it, and I wasn't even thinking of the person at the time, but then it hit me, saturating all my senses.
It is remarkable how that can happen. The people in our lives weave their way into our souls so much more than we taken notice of. We really are carrying around parts of all the people we've met. Obviously, some people take up more room inside of us than others. Some are more welcome, and some are dearly cherished. Maybe we really are the total of who we meet and form relationships with. I like that idea because it means I get to carry around parts of the most remarkable people. It is like we give out pebbles to all the people we meet...pebbles of our soul. We give pebbles to everyone and we collect pebbles from everyone. Some pebbles are generic because we give those out to all we meet--the pleasantries of politeness and general kindness. Some people get more of our pebbles than others, and some people get larger pebbles depending on how much we open up to them. There are the few people who get our most prized pebbles because they earn them by being true to us. Still others help us find the most beautiful pebbles we have to offer.
We have this collection of pebbles from all the people we come in contact with. A little bit of them that stays with us. They become part of who we are.
It should be that way. To take some portion of the people in our lives helps us remember that we are not alone. And, on nights like tonight, I love to sit and look at my pebble collection. I take them and look at their beauty and diversity. No two are the same. I get caught away in memories of songs, laughter, tears, and conversations. I linger on some pebbles, those that I keep in the most treasured places. They often are the pebbles that I've swapped for my most precious pebbles.
Who would we be without the people in our lives? I wouldn't be the person I am or who I hope to be. People help us become ourselves.
3 comments:
Your pepples help me everyday. Thanks for sharing your pepples with me. Beautiful post...full treasures of truth. Love you.
beautiful. i lover your words. i always have!
I have been thinking of this kind of thing a lot the last year, as I try to tease out threads of me from threads of steve and I. In the success and failure of that venture, I realize how much we do take from each other and how much we are shaped by others.
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