The Gift Of Others

When people ask me how I've got over 900 friends on Facebook, the next question they usually ask is if I actually know that many people. Truth be told - I know just about all but 40 or so. I've been blessed to have come across so many people in my lifetime and I do not take each encounter for granted. Does it sound silly? If not for the opportunity of getting to know a person on a personal level and building a good friendship, at least there's the hope of networking and or possibly helping one another out in a professional way.

I've mentioned in blogs before about how I hold people close to my heart. I'm not lying when I say I would do just about anything for someone I call a friend. And while I know some people I've come across in my life that I've truly cared for would not return the favor, I'm alright with that because I did what I needed to do and what I'm wired to do.

I wear my heart on my sleeve and at times it's to my disadvantage. Yes, I get hurt at times because I do this. BUT doesn't a person get hurt simply by not sharing their life with others too? I was having coffee with a dear friend of mine just recently and she mentioned how I know so many people and how it's so easy for me to just put myself out there - emotionally and physically. She's the opposite, she doesn't tend to do that and she said, she hurts herself by not allowing others to get to know her and by allowing herself to vent and express what's on her heart.

Either way, I'm not encouraging you to change the way that you express your emotion and share life. BUT I am challenging you to allow yourself to get to know the people around you. Go ahead and take a moment to start up a conversation with your regular coffee barrista, ask the clerk at the grocery store how they are doing (and mean it), say hello to the people you see on a regular basis but have never spoken to at school, work, etc. You never know what kind of gift you might unwrap. And even better, you never know if you might be that person that they need in their life at the moment!

You are amazing - go and be it!