Budding

FF Chapter Two -- Expressing Gratitude for Collaboration

Dear Gary,

Ahhh… I used to think, “No thank you Sam-I-Am” when it came to poets and poetry. Good thing I changed my mind about that. 😊

We met in The Creative’s Workshop after you read a poem in which I pondered the secret of life. I don’t know what pulled you to reach out, but I’m delighted that you did!

Over the last two years our conversations have challenged my thinking… and served my growth… a testament to Martin Buber’s I/Thou philosophy. When we are open to see, hear, and feel beyond the superficialities of living… we open ourselves to the magic of the Universe… connection, collaboration, and magical math.

I have been soaking in your soft-spoken, gentle, and open nature. This allows me to see those qualities in myself — and to carry them forward in my interactions. When I think of your work as a hospital chaplain, serving patients and their families, I am grateful for the pause and space you offer them in times of stress and pain.

If there is one solid lesson I’ve learned, it is that everything is connected. When you offer comfort you create ripples that radiate into the ocean.

Thank you for contributing your voice to Flourishing Fictions. It is by letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be that we can find who we are? No small task!

You make me want to be a better person.

Gratitude and Love,

Gail