committing to being here

Yesterday we had a going away party for a friend who is moving out of town.

I have high hopes that we will meet again; I’m quite certain we will.

But if we do not, I would be okay with where we left things: a delicious meal shared and seemingly endless bursts of laughter as we played competitive board games.

We roll the dice with fate every time we part ways with people, places, and things.

Maybe we’ll see that friend again, maybe we won’t.

Maybe we’ll travel to that city again, maybe we won’t.

There’s what we want and then there’s where life takes us. We can only hope that the two align at least some of the time.

The wisdom we can extract from this observation is the same wisdom we often tell ourselves, like the sound of, double-tap to like when we see posts about it on social media, but occasionally forget to take to heart: be present.

If you’re with someone important in your life, the greatest gift you can offer them and yourself is your attention, your commitment to be there with them — to listen when they speak, to respond when they ask, to reciprocate smiles, and to enjoy your incredibly brief and beautiful collision in the universe.