Welcoming Love

"Empathy is about standing in someone else's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes." -Daniel Pink

I should probably be doing homework right now.  Actually, being just 4 days until I leave for vacation, there's about a million things I should be doing and none of them are blogging.  Yet, here I find myself.  Yearning to pound out my thoughts on this keyboard because there's just so much going on in my head right now.

I worked as an artist at an event today and met some pretty incredible people.  It's interesting how different clients are from counter to counter.  When I moved from my first Estee Lauder counter to my current one in Asheville, I experienced this shift.  My customers were different.  The reasons they came to the counter were all very different.  Today, I experienced that same feeling - the women of Waynesville were different.  What I experienced today was a group of women with an overwhelming sense of loss.  One thing that I've always been very proud of is that my job entails really listening to people - not just hearing them.  Words are so powerful.  And sometimes all we need is for ours to be heard.  So listening to the women of Waynesville, I heard a lot of loss.  But accompanying that, I heard a lot of rejection.

Rejection is something that weighs heavily on me because it hits just a little too close to home.  It's one of my biggest fears.  But it's been following me around for a couple of days.  I had a long conversation with a friend last night that revolved around a theme of rejection.  It weighed heavy on my heart.  Then something interesting came to mind...

What if we showed love for one another merely because we exist in the same space?

No, really.  I mean it.  What if we actively sought positive things to say and think about one another?  What if we lifted one another up, rather than tearing each other down.  On my mental health journey, one thing I had to be very careful about was separating support from sabotage.  Sometimes, you think you're sharing something with another person in order to hear words of encouragement and compassion.  Then they share a similar story.  Next thing you know, you're both dwelling on things that are more than likely out of your control.  That's not support.  Support is when someone says, "Hey, that sucks.  Some sucky things happened in my life too...but we can grow.  We have opportunities that go beyond the bad things that have happened in our lives.  Here, let me help you."

Recovering from rejection isn't easy.  And finding someone to support you through it may be even harder.  So why not skip the whole rejection thing altogether?  Why not just love the people around us.  Why not tear down the walls that separate us rather than the people on the other side of them?

To the women of Waynesville - I heard you, sisters!  I know you've experienced some loss.  Each one of you today made me grateful for something that I still have.  I will think of you often.  But hang in there.  There will be opportunities that you don't want to miss out on.  To the people who have beat down the women of Waynesville - try some love on today.  And to anyone who is reading this that's feeling a sort of loss or rejection - it's okay.  Cry a little.  Take your time.  And when you're ready, lift your eyes.  There is so much beauty around you.  There is hurt here, I know...but there is also love.  When love arrives, welcome it.  And don't close your eyes so tightly that  you miss it.