I am finding as I get older, that making friends is awfully simple. I talk to anyone. In line at the grocery store. Waiting for a clerk at the post office. Waiting for a table in a restaurant. I enjoy connecting with others. We used to tease my mom about her ability to make friends. She would walk into a store and by the time she walked out the person who worked there would know her whole life story and vice versa.
I was in line the other day at the post office and had a while to wait. There was an air I felt that made me reach out. I felt the need to be present in that moment. The woman beside me needed a Sharpie. I had one in my hand. We shared a few laughs and smiles and talked about her grandkids who would be receiving the presents she held in her hand. I watched life go on around me in that moment.
About a month or so ago, a little Boston Terrier named Ruby went missing in a nearby neighborhood. I saw it on Facebook and immediately felt pulled to help. I was thinking, if that was me missing one of mine, I am not sure how I would deal with that.
That afternoon, I felt the need to join the search. I drove over to the neighborhood, and as I pulled into the street that was mentioned, I realized quickly that I wasn’t the only car with flashers on driving slowly. In fact, there were about 8 of us… I was curious in that moment, how many of us knew these people, this dog, or lived in this neighborhood. In talking to a few people while driving around, I also realized that they didn’t know the dog or the owners or didn’t even live in the neighborhood.
The outpouring of support to bring this little dog home from all over the area was amazing. People drove the neighborhoods all day and night. People posted where they last saw her every sighting, and when they would go to look again.
I was amazed at how many people, how many hours, how many messages of love and support for a little dog that no one knew.
Community is more than just a thing. It’s not where you live or the people you surround yourself with. it’s a feeling.
It’s real, when someone shares love and support with another they have never met, something magical happens.
And people and little dogs like Ruby get found.
It’s pretty simple really.
