Mess Sharing

Hello again! Remember me?

It's nice to be human again. Nearly two weeks ago I had my fourth chemotherapy treatment. It was a new drug with a whole new set of side effects and it knocked me on my butt for a week. Just as the side effects were waning a nasty cold and fever appeared on the scene and I found myself back in bed (and briefly at the hospital). But today is a new day and a new week and I am feeling more like myself than I have in ages.

So much has happened since the last time I was able to sit down and write; there's so much I want to say, so many funny little stories to share. Since I was last here I have had dinner with 25 Extremely Fascinating Women, Dude has finished his riding lessons, Crafty has completed Girl Guides, Mr. Awesome had a birthday, I sang my way through some sketchy medical care, Crafty has turned 10, Mr. Awesome has gone back to work, Mischief has decided to start a business as 'cleaner-uper'  and I have had countless fantastic conversations and encounters with oodles of magnificent people.

The most amazing thing about this life journey I'm on, continues to be the people I meet. It seems that no matter where I go I end up in great conversations where I have the opportunity to encourage someone almost as much as they've encouraged me. My life wasn't like this before but somewhere along the way things changed, I changed.

I used to hate making small talk, especially with strangers. I didn't want to hear about some check-out lady's grand kids and I couldn't care less about the mailman's vacation plans. I wanted my life to be about me. I wanted everything to be fast, convenient and catered to my likes, my needs and my schedule. I liked people but only on my terms, just as long as they didn't ask too much of me, take too much time away from the things I wanted to do and as long as they weren't 'messy'.

And then I grew up.

Opened my eyes and looked around.

Matured.

Somewhere along the way I realised that I was miserable and the cause of my misery was Me. Living my life so deeply invested in my own junk was toxic; it's not how were we created to be. In the beginning God looked at lonely Adam and decided that One is the loneliest number so He created Two and then Three and then Four. And then life got messy but at least so one was alone in their mess.

Life does get messy and complicated when you let others in but if you're honest with yourself you'll realise it was messy and complicated when you were by yourself, too. And you were lonely to boot. When you let others in, when you ask questions and care, some of their mess might get on you but you also get to unload some of your own and in this Mess Sharing a crazy thing happens; the mess doesn't seem so bad. Problems don't seem so overwhelming and sadness doesn't seem to deep. There's something else that happens, too.

Joy is amplified, Hope expands, Dreams abound, Inspiration overflows, Courage is strengthened, Love multiplies and the Future is brighter when life is shared. Everything bad diminishes in the light of friendship and everything good grows in the warmth of togetherness.

And that's just as it was created to be.


Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.


Helen Keller