I attended a Christmas brunch this past weekend. It was wonderful. These kinds of events challenge me.
With so many in attendance, over 100, the threat of emotional overwhelm looms large.
The sheer presence of so many human individuals in a single space and during a time that brims with symbols and themes of family, mortality, life meaning and purpose leverages an intensity of spirit and feeling that causes one to stop and pay attention, particularly if their livelihood and mission in life requires observance of human interactions and relationships.
Writers constitute one group of the breed of professionals whose work necessitates a deep reverence and understanding for human connections.
During this event as I breathed deeply in an effort to ground myself, I took notice of the myriad human interactions, the various smiles and hugs offered one to another, the clasping of hands, caressing of shoulders, kisses to the cheek, warm embraces and those tentative and bearing hope.
In each action and exchange of greeting and energy arose, lifted and then dissipated, or rather merged and morphed into a whole new construction of connection.
Each time we encounter someone we visit, revisit and meet new aspects of ourselves, and the other.
And in this gathering of hearts and minds a transformation occurs.
We become a little more aware, if only for a moment that life and living are rooted in human engagement.
And without meeting and connecting with others we miss ourselves, why we are here and most importantly we lose one more chance to glimpse who we might become and various pathways down which we can embark on the trek of evolution calling us home to our nascent selves, our ultimate identity.
A story accompanies, rises out of, every experience we undergo each event in which we partake.
Each provides a journey of discovery.
These revelations about ourselves, and our lives provide fodder for our writing.
What was your story for today?
What did it yield for use in your writing?