Invisible connection

Guest post by Laura Summers for Oh, these Wild Women: Stories from the tribe

The red string of fate., originally uploaded by ;Lau

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance.

The thread can be tightened or tangled, but can never be broken.
-
Ancient Chinese Proverb

I’m a junkie. I admit it. I crave the feeling of connection. In the tiny little morsels of life where I can get intimate with another human, even momentarily, I thrive. But, just like any other addiction, a tiny bit is just never enough. Once you feel the power of this drug, you are just never the same.

The most delicious moments for me are the unexpected ones. The unadulterated high that comes from meeting someone who changes your life, even briefly, can carry me for days. Among the mundane, these experiences are full of sparkle and shine, and you’ll find the glitter in places you thought it had washed off, weeks later.

Recently, in just such a moment, I experienced truth and beauty when it sat in a chair next to me and answered questions I didn’t realize I had been asking. It was a day like any other, except that I had been lamenting an experience I’d had with my sister. Wondering quietly why I couldn’t seem to connect with her in the way I could with others. It had me puzzled, and it seemed I had searched my entire life for an answer.

Then, in a wonderfully serendipitous exchange, I understood. A woman, whom I had never met, out of the blue and to no one in particular uttered a phrase that hit me, so hard, it nearly knocked me off my chair.

What she said was of no consequence to anyone in that room but me. As if I had spoken them aloud, she had heard the questions of my heart. I stared for a moment, while I allowed the glow from her being to surround me. I’ve long accepted the universe’s way of putting people in our path to comfort our bruised and battered hearts. I knew in an instant that this woman didn’t know why she started that conversation with me. She did more for me that day than she could ever possibly know.

We chatted briefly, but shared profoundly intimate experiences with one another in that time. It was healing, and humbling, and heartfelt. The way she stepped into my path that day, cracked my heart wide open and I shall never forget.

Yes, I love connection. I find it often and I recognize it as a precious gift. It has taken me some time to appreciate the quality of these moments. Perhaps my way of thinking has changed as I have aged. Perhaps I talk less and listen more. Perhaps, it is simply that when another person shares their soul, their vulnerabilities, and their honesty, I fall in love.

Connection is Love. It is the only feeling I know of that makes me want to cry and bear hug people I’ve just met. It is that invisible thread that weaves us together and gets us through this life without coming unraveled.

Laura Summers – wearing a sweater, a scarf, and fuzzy boots she clicks out the details of her world from beneath a mountain of snow in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Hibernating for the winter, she writes, and studies, and looks forward with anticipation to every Spring of her life.