The Joy of Reconnecting

I had a fabulous lunch with a [lost] old friend yesterday.

It always helps when the lunch is at one of my favorite places to eat (Chow Baby). And it also helps that it was Friday so things were already a great start.

That said, we got our food, sat down, and just started talking about life. It was so great.

You see, I'm the type of person who becomes quite polarizing quite quickly. One of my greatest strengths is that I have a very vivid/colorful personality (at least that's what I get told). Yet this ends up rubbing people the wrong way quite often. Either they won't get my humor or perhaps I'll be perceived as being insensitive or some people end up being just straight up haters. And while I truly wish I could build rich, authentic relationships with everyone I encounter, I have come to receive the fact that not only is it not possible, but it would devalue the relationships I most cherish now.

Yesterday was a great example of one relationship I do value very very much.

For me, one of the greatest measure of someone's authenticity is how comfortable they are talking about very deep subjects. Everyone talks about sports, the weather, facebook, whatever; and it's really healthy to talk about all those things. But eventually everyone is faced with the issues in life that truly matter. All your actions are driven by your faith and your values and they eventually manifest themselves through actions and words. That's why, when I'm able to speak with anyone who dives deep into those things, it communicates that in one way or another they are shifting their focus from the present to the everlasting.

All that in mind, what I really can't stand is how awesome some people can be. When you talk about humble, extraordinary character people only a handful of people will ever cross your life.

I had the joy of eating lunch with one yesterday.