Discovering Friendship, Discovering Trust

I recently had lunch with an old friend. Somehow, I had managed to forget the value of our shared friendship. It surprises me, how easily I forget such things. In the business of raising children and running a business, I sometimes forget me. Forgetfulness can sure be a thief, robbing us of our natural connectedness to each other.

There are times that I wander through my life feeling alone and misunderstood, all because of forgetfulness. I forget to trust and forget to reach out for the friendship that is there. I forget how much people care. Surely, I am not the only one who does this.

It is the remembrance of shared interests, shared memories and shared laughter that encourages me reach out to those I care about and those who care about me. When I do reach out, the feeling of aloneness starts to dissipate like morning mist hanging low in the valleys.

With my friend, I found myself deeply appreciating the acceptance, encouragement and truth-telling that graces true friendship. I shared with her something that I have been thinking about lately, something that is a little challenging to discuss. She met my disclosure complete acceptance and interest.

In retrospect, I recognize the courage that truth-telling requires, the courage it takes to reach out in remembrance and offer one’s self, one’s hidden dreams to another. It seems to take courage to trust.

Lately, I have been exploring what it means to really trust . . . trust friends, trust my own inspirations, trust Life, trust God. I have considered myself to be someone who easily trusts. Yet, in my friend’s company, I found how I have allowed pockets of fear to create pockets of mistrust. These pockets hidden in my psyche, fuel a periodic sense of isolation and a feeling of being misunderstood.

Moreover, I found a hidden source of trust bubbling up from our willingness to engage in truth-telling with each other all the while meeting each other with heart-felt appreciative encouragement. As we shared dreams and ideas together, I felt as though we were engaged in a dance of sublime elements – courage, acceptance, encouragement, enthusiasm and appreciation – a mystical dance of trust.

Today I’m noticing a greater sense of contentment and hope within myself. I feel closer to God. I’m noticing a stronger feeling of trust in myself and trust in Life. I’m noticing more gratitude for myself and others.

Perhaps there is someone in your life, to whom you would like to offer appreciative encouragement. Perhaps there is someone in your life with whom you’d like to share a few hidden dreams. To whom might you like to reach out to for a little dance with trust?

What might your offering of appreciation and encouragement mean in that someone’s life today? What might it mean in yours?

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