Sometimes it is just so interesting knowing people. I've found that amongst my friends are some who grew up in high-achieving families. Theiir parents were well known people who made a living legacy in the world. Their parents were not just the husband working in a typical daily job; they were the one writing best-selling books.
This seems to have fostered some friends who work very hard. Their goal seems to be to let you know how busy they are and the important things they are doing and the important people they are interacting with on a daily basis. I have found that when I finish a conversation with one of these friends I actually am tired. It feels like I've just worked on a conversation and the conversation was hard.
There is a famous quote that states, "It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came here or what you've studied. In the end I want to know about your dreams, I want to know your risks. I want to know if you can let ecstasy fill you and still be true to yourself. I want you to be true to beauty."
When i look into your eyes and I asks "How are you" I really want to know how you are. It is as we share our hearts together that we find the walls of ego drop away and soon all there is the Divine and we share our souls.
For a couple of years, Rachel and I ran the Wednesday night program at our church. We would start out at 6 PM with a shared meal. It was soup in the winter and salad in the summer. We would then do a program around some topic. Many times we would throw in a meditation. I loved to really confuse people and do the meditation from the back of the sanctuary. The congregants then had no one to focus on but an empty stage and my voice would come from the backof the room. I did this because the meditation was not about a person but about the ability to settle within.
Thus is the truth of conversation. When you step into a sacred place of sharing a conversation with another human how are you showing up? Is it your soul showing up in the breadth and width of the conversing.
Take some time this week and think about how much of your interaction with other people is about ego. The ego is about posturing, being defensive, getting your answer ready to go in response to what they are saying. It's so much work.
If it's difficult to step away from the ego place, I believe that is the point to ask questions. I love to ask people questions that get them out of the norm. Two of mhy favorite are "What surprised you?" and "What did you want to make sure the other person knew by the time you finished talking?" Do it different this week; set up a different way to connect and see what happens.
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