Day #10: Connection is a currency that’ll never go bankrupt…
For the best Gifts I’ve received in life I haven’t had to spent a dime. People I’ve met, relationships I’ve formed and memories we’ve made together. That’s the wealth money will never buy. No material thing can replace you being present for the person you love. It sound cliche, but couldn’t resonate more with me today: “The best gift you can give one another is time.” Give your undivided attention to those close to your heart. Your presence is one unique gift that no one else can offer. The connection between two humans is truly priceless and something that can never go bankrupt.
In today’s modern world it seems like more connected we are online, more disconnected we might be offline in what we call the “real” life. More connected we are with technology, less connected we are from our own self and one another. The distractions of our fast-paced era are often damaging the bonds of our relationships. When we’re busy with running towards the next thing after the next, we tend to forget about how important it is to cherish our friends, family and people we love.
When I moved across the world, left the comfort zone of my community and landed in a foreign country — I knew nobody, I had nothing and I felt like starting from zero. I had no connections, no family, no friends here in Canada. Not knowing the language was not helping my situation either. I started closing myself up. I isolated myself from the scary outside world where I felt so vulnerable. I felt small, irrelevant and useless. I was beating myself up with believing the thought of “everybody being better than me”. I was digging up the hole of misery and was ready to just sit there, alone, waiting for somebody to save me. Nobody was coming. Little did I know back then — this abyss was only in my mind. Nobody could save me until I managed to wake up from the “poor me” mindset and saved myself.
My family is still far away and my friends are spread out all around the world. Today I know distance is irrelevant. It sure is nice to be close to those you love, but the real connection you share with someone is inside, where no distance is too far or ocean too deep. There are no limits love couldn’t travel, there is no time that can get in a way. Connection is timeless, it doesn’t have a beginning nor it has an end. It is everywhere, all around you when you allow it to be. Once I opened my heart, it started soaking it up like a giant sponge, filing me up drop by drop…
Seven years later I feel well connected to my community. Bow Valley’s nature is transient, there’s no doubt. I used to struggle with people coming into my life, becoming friends and leaving once again before I knew it. I’ve been heartbroken so many times by yet another “best friend” that left me and a little empty space in my heart.
After welcoming so many Share Your Gift-ers into my life, it has been amazing to see the dynamics of relationships. How are they born, alive for a certain amount of time and then, sometimes, come to an end. We should not see an end of a relationship as a reason to be upset. Instead maybe as an opportunity to grow, be guided to go somewhere where we could not be taken if we stayed connected to this person. Maybe they gave us all they were meant to share, we learned and now there’s nothing left to exchange with each other.
Every single one of the people I’ve met and/or lost had either taught me something or directed me to the right course in life. Yes, even those people who I wished I would not have ever met — especially those people were the biggest blessings on my path. Not always was I ready for the lesson they were there to teach me…so they might come back many times after — until I realized what was the pattern I haven’t been willing to learn. Then one day you see it clearly and that might be the day you’re released from meeting the same person in a different body over and over again. I don’t believe there is such a thing as an “enemy”. What makes the person our enemy has nothing to do with them. The feeling is on us as a block in our heart we are not willing to let go off and forgive. Forgive doesn’t mean to forget! Forgiveness is more about releasing our emotions around the hurt we’ve experienced.
I am grateful more than I can express for meeting so many amazing (as well as those I thought were not amazing at all) humans along the way of my thirty years of existence. Some of them I only met briefly, some I’ve known for my whole life. It matters not how long we know somebody for, what matters is how big of an impact they had on our life. On our last day we won’t remember all the details of what did someone said or did, we will remember how did this person make us feel. And that is an impact I want to have on others. I want to share a piece of my own heart, my beliefs, hopes and dreams. I want everyone to feel inspired, empowered and supported. I want to share what I have learned from those who had an impact on my own life.
Relationships I’ve build here over the years have been very unique and I feel blessed meeting some people that had deeply touched my heart and shifted the way I look at life. My friend Rae, whom I had a delicious dinner with (*for those wondering how I survive without cash — meals shared with friends are my favourite way how to nourish not only my body but also the bonds with some of my favourite people), is one of those rare souls who I share a special connection with. We can chat about the little things of everyday life, but what makes our friendship even more valuable is, that we can also talk about what’s really going on inside of our heart, be real and raw, express our dreams or fears, what do we struggle with or something as profound as what the purpose of life might be. These friendships should be cherished as much as our most precious gifts we’ve received from the Universe.
And what do I think the purpose of life is? Through our conversation I realize I have a pretty clear vision of what life’s purpose mean to me. Realizing our true nature. I believe once we dig deep enough within ourselves, we will come to realize there’s no other purpose in life than living in the harmony with who we are and knowing it so fully that even the question of purpose becomes irrelevant. Does a tree ask what its purpose is? It just lives its purpose, it lives its full potential of providing us with oxygen, it lives with harmony with other species and adapt to its circumstances. It doesn’t question when the spring is gonna come after the long winter, how amazing fruit it’s had five years ago, it doesn’t compare the tree next to it because it has better leaves. It just lives in its beauty.
“Be like a tree. Stay grounded. Connect with your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break. Enjoy your unique beauty. Keep growing.” — Joanne Raptis.
From the ❤ Lucie Darshan
