Jan 31 2010
74. {12/04/09} I came up with the idea of making promises instead of goals and then I asked Ronna to be my Promise Partner. I kinda felt like a first grader asking the cool kid to be my friend. But, it was totally worth it because she gets it and now we meet once a week to support one another.
Jan 12 2009
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I’m playing around with recording my posts as audios. Click play to listen or download to take with you. For email subscribers, click on the title of this post to check out the audio.
Yesterday we stopped by my friend Jerry’s to see his new place. While we were on the grand tour, he stopped us to point out a gift I had given him when I was just a teen. It was a framed plaque with a music box behind it that read:
Each day is a new beginning
Another chance to learn more about ourselves
To care more about others
To laugh more than we did
To accomplish more than we thought we could
To be more than we were before.
After reading it I said, “Wow! I was a life coach even as a teen!”
We giggled and Jerry said, “Hey, you can blog about it.”
“What a great idea. Email me the quote.”
“Sure.”
***
You know, when I bought that gift for Jerry I didn’t realize how much he meant to me or how much the gift would mean to him. I only knew that I wanted to give him something for everything he had done for me.
In looking back, I see now that deep down I did know how meaningful the message was and what a positive impact he had made on my life. He believed in me when I felt no one else did. Heck, I didn’t even believe in me back then.
It’s neat how both of us still feel the power of the message and our friendship. In the email that Jerry sent this morning he said, “This quote and you helped me through some rough times.” You know, we didn’t realize what troubles lay ahead for both of us after that gift.
But, I do know that the little things you do for your friends make a big difference. Make today the day to reach out and tell your friends why you appreciate them, how they have made your life better, or just a simple I love you.
Simply Fearless ~
Sep 04 2008
{click the photo to read Art’s bit of wisdom to me}
This is Art. I met him on a photo expedition that turned into more of a friend expedition! You see, a few months back I found a group on flickr.com that was all about asking people you don’t know if you can take their photo and find out a little about them. What a fabulous idea! And even though I really liked the idea, I didn’t go out and do it myself. Until yesterday.
I had a meeting in downtown Campbell at 10:30. I arrived about 35 minutes early and decided that this was the perfect opportunity to walk around and take some photos. So I grabbed my camera and as I was walking across the street I saw a man sitting on a bench sipping his coffee drink. I thought to myself, “Why not ask him if you can take his photo?”
As I got closer he made eye contact and I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity, “Hi there,” I smiled as big as I could, “Can I take your photo?”
“Sure,” he replied without hesitation.
“What a relief,” I thought as I hadn’t even considered what I would have said or done if he had said no.
I snapped two photos and then walked up to tell him about what I now call The Stranger to Friend Project. He went on to tell me how he took on a similar project where he went out and asked homeless people if he could take their picture. He wanted to put together a book of black and white photos of homeless people. But, he told me that the project was thwarted when no one would allow him to take his photo. This actually worked to my advantage because he said that he couldn’t say no to me because he knew first-hand what it was like.
“So what inspired you to take photos of homeless people?” I asked.
“Well, I’ve always been fortunate enough to have a job, enough money, and a place to live. I wanted to put the book together to help increase awareness about homelessness right here in our community.”
“Oh wow! That’s pretty cool.”
We went on to talk for at least 15 minutes afterwards and he told me that he is a retired iron worker from Local Union 377 – this is not to be confused with a steel worker. An iron worker is out in the field erecting buildings and bridges; whereas, steel workers are in the factory shaping and molding the raw materials into useable shapes. He is also an avid golfer and a crazy cyclist – he doesn’t call himself a “crazy cyclist” but anyone who attempts to ride from Mexico to Canada is a crazy cyclists in my book!
It was so neat talking with an absolute stranger and feeling so comfortable. Art was so easy to talk to and he had a lot of really interesting things to say. Connecting with Art turned out to be a great way for both of us to be heard and validated. We both got to share about ourselves and it was so interesting because we didn’t know one another. We were very curious about one another and open to listening to what they other person had to say.
You know, we all need to be heard and validated and sometimes our friends and family are too busy or too close to the matter to do it all the time. So I encourage all of you to get out there and connect with a stranger. You never know what you will learn and it can actually lighten the load in your personal relationships!
