It seems that I am never really among strangers.
People I have never met before often tell me incredibly personal things about themselves. I am no longer surprised by this, but every time it happens, I continue to be amazed that perfect strangers will reveal such incredibly personal things about themselves during casual meetings in public places.
I'm not sure exactly what I do that seems to send a signal that it is safe for people to tell me these things. Maybe there is something about my face, or the way I smile, or simply the fact that, I too, am reaching out.
Whatever it is that I do, I know that it rose out of the deep loneliness I felt as a child and a basic bravery that grew out of my need and my desire for friends. Due to this innate desire, I am naturally a pretty friendly person.
The truth is that I am genuinely interested in the stories that people tell me. I am usually happy to visit with anyone, and there is part of me that is always reaching out in order to connect with other souls. I don't think I am alone in this. We are all wanderers, and we all seek to reconnect with the greater IS.
It seems to me that most people are intrinsically lonely, fearing to be completely open with the people they know the best. We are all looking for love and we all fear rejection. We express these human emotions in differing ways. It is not unusual to find that many of us are often kinder to strangers than we are to those we love the most.
In these busy times, there seems to be an increasing number of lonely people who go about their days doing what they they think they have to do to get by, and who long for a connection with someone with whom they can reveal their hopes, dreams and fears.
There certainly have been times that my openness has resulted in rebuff and in rejection rather than in friendship, but there came a time that I decided that I would rather reach out, and take the chance of making a connection, than to hold back and continue to feel alone.
Although I certainly have not always been my best self and have my share of regrets regarding the times I was not kind and hurt people deeply, I really do believe that there must be something unique, unusual and wonderful about everyone I meet. I am generally interested in finding out what this something is....
I believe that most people are essentially kind. I think this is a human trait that arose out of our need to cooperate with one another in order to survive. When this trait seems to be absent, I believe this is a result of great trauma and pain.
Over the years, I, personally, have been the recipient of many extraordinary and unexpected acts of kindness from complete strangers, from people I barely know or am meeting for the first time. People. in general, are usually very kind to me. My wish is to return that kindness or at least pass it on.
Posted by Judi at December 14, 2008 9:34 PM | TrackBack