about the magical parts of ourselves.
I read once about a truck driver who would drive for hours to sit by a river to reflect on his problems. When they were solved he would drive home again. I solve my problems when I write, when I listen to music, when I talk long walks in my head and wonder what I should be doing next.
But I learn the most about who I really am when I am with people I care about, especially those whom I haven’t seen for a long, long time. In a funny way, it’s like watching grass grow or your own child get taller, you don’t notice changes in yourself until you have large spaces of time in between two points to compare.
When I went to the UK, I looked forward to seeing friends that I hadn’t seen for nearly 5 years. I knew that I would discover, uncover, or trip over something about my life that I hadn’t figured out because I was “too here.”
And it happened just that way.
Being in the company of people who knew me “in the olden days” brought my thoughts back to the person I used to be. They asked questions, and I answered them. It was curious to see which events, which ideas, of 5 years time passing I chose to mention. It was revealing to realize that 5 years ago I might have responded to their stories and updates differently.
I liked the new me.
Yet, tiny things that I valued about who I was 5 years ago started showing up on my radar screen. They were tiny good differences in the way my friends related to and remembered me. These were hopes, dreams, and deep heart things that new friends would have no reason to know.
I suppose it happens that way for most all of us. We’re so busy living; we don’t see how we’ve grown. We don’t see how our growing means we might accidentally leave behind bits of ourselves.
It’s a smile, the kind you get when you hear favorite old music, to meet up with parts of yourself that you didn’t value enough then.
Dear friends, in whose care we’ve left our well being, hand back to us a piece of our hearts and our history, so that we can make it our own again. They’re a lifelong mirror who can reflect back all the marvelous colors.
They’re a gift because they see what we’ve forgotten — the truly magical things that are part of who we’ve been all along.
Have you forgotten what makes you magical?
The people who love you still know.
