I’m a do-er. I have so many things I want to read, make, learn about and do in the course of a day. I’m also a super introvert so am happy to stay home alone and do all these many things I love while recharging my life batteries.
However…
Recently I did an art show opening. I knew it wouldn’t be super well attended but I love showing my work at this local yoga studio. A friend wished me well, “I hope you sell it all.” I knew I would sell nothing. But I’d sit around in a sweet space where I teach meditation with some dear friends so it would be okay for awhile. Then I’d wander off back home into my “safe zone.”
Thing is… I stayed the whole evening. Friends dropped by and I sat on the floor with them and talked and laughed. At one point, I know I laughed so hard I rolled back on the floor with my feet up in the air. It felt great to just let go and howl. What did we all talk about? I’m not sure now. But we reconnected. I visited with other friends, showed them my new work… giggled, laughed and enjoyed watching some explain the stories my most recent paintings told them. It was lovely.
This weekend, I had a studio show (people in my space), a little fun wedding shower (more people) then stopped by to watch a movie with a friend (more dang people?) And yes, here I am at the end of the weekend… and I can see the goodness of time shared.
I did not get done what I wanted to get done. But… for a change, I’m starting to see the beauty in relaxing into time when I cannot be productive. I can sit with people I like, love, enjoy and just savor those times. Because I know when I will take the time to sit with friends, I get to know them better.
That knowledge is a bond of sorts, an energetic connection. I know them a bit better and I allow them to know me a bit better. And even if we don’t see one another regularly, somewhere down the road, we’ll cross paths again. I had work to do, projects to complete, lessons to learn. But I said no to the work, wrote off the productivity time and wandered off with friends to spend a bit of downtime. Because I took the time to be still– listen to them and honestly share a bit of me, our friendship and our connection and the energy became a bit stronger.
To the introvert who had thought that recharging only comes when I’m alone… somehow in the past two weeks, I’ve seen that spending time with small groups of friends, non-productive but fun, giggly moments can recharge me in different ways. There is a lovely sort of energy in that, an energy I might not draw in all alone. The power of the connection of human to human, friend to friend recharges something in my heart and allows the love to grow in new and lovely ways.