This is another of those times when I find I have several threads of thought that could be made into a letter for you, simply because life is constantly moving along, people stream through, words and phrases are spoken, and something in me gets sparked. Then I have words of my own to share.
Today I am choosing from among many things that have sailed by me, waving hello just during this past week. And so, with this well of riches, isn’t life amazing?
I went to my chiropractor on Thursday to get repairs done on my back, neck, and shoulder, all of which get bothered because I play something I love–pickleball. And that visit to my chiropractor’s office was, as sometimes happens, magical. a) He fixed me right up. b) We made each other laugh. c) I was able to buy an already cold, giant ice pack. And d) While I was paying, someone came up behind me and said, “Kay Foley, I haven’t seen you in years.” I turned to see a beautiful soul I met when I’d just started playing pickleball in 2015.
I stayed in my chiropractor’s office, ice pack on my back, to visit with her until she was called in. We reminisced about the old days of pickleball, when Open Play truly was open and we all played with each other. There were no groups and it was a pleasure to sit and visit with people from very different walks of life between games. She said, “Remember how much fun we had on Friday nights?” Oh yes. Yes, I so do. She had the same nostalgia for those days that I have.
I said, “You were so kind to me when I started playing.” She said, “You were so much fun!” I asked her how she and her husband (another very kind, lovely person) met. They dated for three years in high school and married at 19. She had been the head cheerleader and he, captain of the football team. They were prom king and queen. “Like a movie!” I exclaimed. And here they are, more than 60 years later, two lovelies. So much the opposite of my own life.
I am pretty sure we have very little in common, other than a love of pickleball and perhaps a desire to connect with others. She was a churchgoer, one of those that I was careful not to swear in front of, seemingly conservative, though I don’t really know that. I imagine that our social and political views are very different, but again, I’m only guessing.
So where am I going with this? It just struck me that while as a nation we are so very divided, as individuals we have so many ways that we connect, ways in which we can connect, regardless of our points of view. Just soul to soul. I think it’s remarkable. And it gets completely lost in the “issues” of the day. That, too, is remarkable. How does something so beautiful become so easily lost to us?
It doesn’t have to. We could make efforts to find those connections wherever we can. We could open our hearts. That’s where the plug-ins are, for the wild mix of connections we’re capable of. Just think what could happen. We could light up the whole world.
“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.” ― William James
“Invisible threads are the strongest ties.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
“When we know ourselves to be connected to all others, acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do. ” ― Rachel Naomi Remen
| If you’re looking for my cards or art, you’ll find all of that on my website. If you enjoy these letters, feel free to forward this one to anyone you think might like it. And if someone forwarded this one to you, you can sign up here to receive the letters right in your Inbox. Finally, you’ll find past letters and poems here. Thanks for listening, Kay P.S. MerryThoughts is the name of my first book, out of print at the moment. The word is a British one, referring both to a wishbone and to the ritual of breaking the wishbone with the intention of either having a wish granted or being the one who marries first, thus the “merry thoughts.” |