At times it seems as if everyone is suffering.
And we try to make sense of it, try to make room for it in our mind.

“We think we have problems… ” I said to my mom the other day on the heels of hearing of yet another sad occurrence. It’s hard to hear of others’ hardships as we are just starting to see the light at the end of our recent tunnel.
This calendar year has been peppered with hard losses and tough situations. And all the while it appears that many around me are experiencing much of the same or worse.

A colleague died earlier this year after a long cancer battle. She will be honored at an event I’m attending later today. I can still conjure the emotional experience of spending time with her and her family earlier this Spring when her time was limited. And I am sure since her passing their pain hasn’t lessened and their grief hasn’t waned.

A few days ago, I learned of the untimely death of one of the kids I grew up with in my neighborhood. It feels like a senseless death, something that should have been prevented and yet I am reminded the grip of addiction is no less than the stranglehold of cancer.

These are the days and weeks that leave you lost, somewhat directionless. Too many are mourning, too many are battling, too many are struggling with life’s lessons.

In the midst of what feels like sadness at every turn, I received an unexpected kindness. After finishing a personal training session earlier this week, I climbed into my car and just caught a glimpse of my client’s husband in my rearview mirror. I got out thinking I must have left something behind. Instead, he handed me a book from his wife.

I was so surprised when he said, she wants you to have it. It was a copy of the Tao Te Ching with beautiful black and white photography. I was a little confused but he insisted I take it.

Not long after I left, she sent me a text explaining she had ordered the book for me but had forgotten about it until after I left. She said it helped her when she was going through a difficult time and thought it could do the same for me.
It was as if she sensed the heaviness.
It was an unexpected gift from an unexpected source and yet, upon reflection, I really should have expected it.
She’s a true, compassionate soul and what I would call an intuitive. But I didn’t realize she read me so well. Today, I am thankful for such a beautiful gift but also what feels like the blossoming of a beautiful friendship.

Sunshine & Sarcasm,

Lowi & G