
I was at a wedding once, and I was talking to a woman whom a friend had introduced me to. She seemed nice and we talked for a while, and then she was called away to do something and I was talking to someone else. Imagine my surprise when I felt someone hugging me from behind.
As I turned around and saw her smiling face I felt an overwhelming joy. It was wonderful to have that experience for the first time. What a sweet person she was. We danced the rest of the wedding and that was the start of our relationship.
Unfortunately being sweet isn’t enough to sustain a relationship. I was the wrong religion, and while her family was patient at first at her attempt to convert me, I didn’t believe in her religion just like I didn’t believe in the one I was raised in. Love sometimes isn’t enough.
Why am I sharing this with you? I thought of her today. I randomly think of people who were kind and loving towards me, and it gives me hope and perspective. When times are difficult, we need to remember the people who have loved us and feel good about helping make other’s lives better. It is easy to ruminate and endlessly think in circles, but it doesn’t help. We can get stuck in things that don’t help us, and we have to forgive ourselves and accept it.
Even with time, the feeling of being hugged from behind is so clear in my mind, heart, and soul. I know when I am dying I won’t remember the material toys that I played with, but the people who loved me. That’s why I find it so mysterious why people kill themselves to collect toys, rather than to collect experiences of beautiful things that improve their happiness.
Simple gestures of affection may mean very little to you, but to others, they can provide a lifetime of meaning and hope.