Tag Archives: friendship

Endless and effortless collaboration on the story of life…

Posted on
8

There are words.

And sentences.

And paragraphs.

And pages.

And chapters of our story…

that are written by us.

Read carefully, and we will see that the pen of someone else’s hand is putting many words in place–especially key moments of drastic shift and change.

Their handwriting, their fingerprints, their influence are all over our pages.

And, while we think we are writing our own story without consequence to others, we are actually shifting and changing and writing theirs as well. Our handwriting and fingerprints and influence are all over their pages.

Art begets art. Life begets life. Story begets story. It’s impossible to live a silent and impact-free life. And it’s impossible not to be impacted by others. Life is one big collaboration. The story will go well for us if we keep an open mindset of cooperation.

I woke up re-reading the current page of my life–with relationships and phone calls and prayers and ideas that shift and turn my story. I feel both powerful and powerless, at the same time.

But one thing I’m thankful for, I’ve got a few great writers in my life. And I want their words on my pages.

Do you have any great writers in your life? And are you giving them room to write some of your story? And who’s story are you helping write right now?

Great art rarely happens by accident. And neither do great stories.

 

Do I know you? Do you know me?

Posted on
75

It’s early on Sunday morning. Early. I’m talking pre-gotta-be-at-church-at-7:30am early. And I’m sipping my coffee and reading the most brilliant chapter of Anne Lamott my eyes have ever seen.

And I look up on the bookshelf and I see Pete Wilson’s “Plan B” sitting there. And the green of the cover perfectly matches the green of the kitchen wall and I imagine myself telling someone about this book: “I know him.”

Wait.

Then the brain stops. And the self-awareness kicks in and says “Really? Are you sure? Because according to reality, you’ve never actually met him.”

To reason with myself (because this is what all sane people do) (right?), I thought through how I’d have to qualify my knowing of him and frame it in the world of social media and all that blah blah. And then I just wondered: Do I know him? According to the world’s standards, could I actually say that?

And the brain continued to inquire: Do I know all these other people that I have contact with through the internet? Or better yet, do they know me?

To the last question, I’d answer yes. I’d say you know me. Not like my mom knows me, or Drew knows me, or the BFF knows me. But, yeah, you know my personality and likes and interests and some of my thoughts. In the self-aware corners of my brain, I know that what I say here is a pretty accurate representation of myself. Sure, it’s not the whole picture, but it’s enough of the picture for you to recognize the in-real-life-me if you ever stumbled upon me in an airport or at a conference. And enough for us to strike up some legit conversation right there on the spot.

At least that’s how I see it.

But how do you see it? How do you see the world of social media interaction and your experience of reading this-here blog?

  1. Do you know me?
  2. Do I know you?

Would You Rather…?

Posted on
26

Drew and I had a fun lazy summer afternoon convo a few weeks ago. Here’s a snippet:

  1. Would you rather have no ears OR no thumbs?
  2. Would you rather live off of Chicken Noodle Soup and water but be able to read for the rest of your life, OR spend the rest of your life eating/drinking whatever you want but remain illiterate forever?
  3. Would you rather have endless money but no traveling out of state, OR unlimited traveling while living off $40,000 a year?
  4. Would you rather have 4 inch long fingernails or toenails?

So… Go on. Feel free to answer the questions. :)

You know you’re getting old when…

Posted on
32

Spent a nice chunk of my afternoon talking to a dear friend who I miss so much. (oh the magic of skype!) We somehow got on the topic of my age. That, well, er, um… That I’ll be turning 32 in a few months. Granted, she will be turning 32 a few weeks after that, but she didn’t wanna hear it.

After much cajoling (isn’t that an old man word? oops) she gave in, and admitted to a few factors that support my already obvious theory that we’re getting old.

Here’s what she said, in her own confessional words, “I know I’m getting old when:”

“…I don’t know who Justin Bieber is.”

“…My college graduation photos show clothing and hair that is painfully out of style.”

Ok Ok. Now I’m going to add my own:

I know I’m getting old when my husband reads this blog post over my shoulder and asks, “Who is Justin Beiber?” and I don’t really know the answer to that question. And if Holly is old because she doesn’t know the answer, and I’m two weeks older than Holly and I don’t know the answer to that question, and if I’m 4 months older than Drew and he’s asking that question, then the only logical conclusion is that I’m old.

[inhale]

Ok. Your turn!

Friend.

Posted on
12

I’ve been in close communication with a far-away friend recently. Texts, emails, etc… And, in nearly all of my recent exchanges with her, I’ve made it a point to call her “friend.” This word means a lot to her, and she uses it regularly when she’s addressing friends. I want to speak her heart’s language, so I intentionally and consciously call her “friend.”

I’ve thought about that word a lot lately. About what that word means. About what it means to her, to me, and to the English language.

I’m realizing that this word – friend – is probably one of the most important words in our vocabulary.

It holds so much meaning, so much symbolism, so much relationship, so much knowing, so much truth.

What does this word mean to you?