Renewed Friendships / Surprise Packages?!

     Have you ever had the occasion of running into a long-ago acquaintance and been greeted almost like a soul mate? Were you rather taken aback by the expression of affection from someone you'd thought of in much more casual terms even long ago?

     I've experienced something like this a couple of times in recent months and it got me reflecting. Here are a few thoughts and questions that emerged from my musings:

• What a wonderful gift: surprise and affection in one package!
• I wonder if, in those early years of knowing each other, I had missed signals of the potential for a friendship deeper than the one we had. If so, what got in the way of my seeing them? What effect, if any, did it have on the person looking for something more? Was there something I was not seeing?
• Did I ever do something significant for him/her, something that was never forgotten, or did  he/she just see something in me that I didn't appreciate in myself?
• Should this moment be only a passing renewal, or do grounds exist for an ongoing fruitful relationship? Are our connections only in the past, or could we both grow from strengthening our ties?
• If time can heal wounds, can it increase appreciation or love? Is this what hindsight does for us?
• How is it that a small moment of greeting can have such an effect? What are the implications of this kind of experience on m relationships past or present?

     No matter how I answer these questions or develop these thoughts, I've been touched by unexpected gifts, and I hope they overflow, deepening my sensitivity to others. Maybe such experiences can put me into a mindset that expands both my heart and my vision from today into my tomorrows.        Colleen Winston, OSB