How much of ourselves are we supposed to leave behind? How much of what’s left behind by others are we going to carry with us? It’s an energy exchange, if you want, and it is real. I don’t know how much we give and get, and I don’t believe quantifying would serve a purpose here. The energy exchange is what carries us forward. It feeds our need to grow. We attach to people and the places we associate with them. We build memories that will draw us like magic strings towards the people and places we left behind. The memories will become part of us. We become what we are because of all of these encounters.
People, some we stumble upon, some we are drawn towards and some are drawn to us. And the energy exchange transforms our lives. It makes us grow. Some make us struggle in order to grow, others invite us to dance and the growing up happens without any pain. Are these experiences, whether pleasurable or painful, equally enriching? I say yes, they are. Our perception may be different, we may resent the pain but in the end what matters is that we grow as we go. We learn. We learn to be grateful, we learn to smile and forgive. We learn to take the gifts others have for us, and we offer them gifts too. We learn to let go and move on. Each encounter, whether through laughs or tears, shapes us into what we are.
Life is connecting to people and places, past and present. Life is about learning to say “hello” and “good-bye” and learning to enjoy everything that happens in between. Life is a journey of growing up and helping others grow too. Life is beautiful.