on connecting and sharing& a triple dog dare

on december 25, 2016, we attended christmas mass at westminster abbey, and it was one of the most sensational, spiritual and sublime experiences of my life. after the service, we left the church as the bells pealed and pealed, so loud and deep, and we found ourselves immersed in a crowd of christmas celebrators, marveling in the moment.

we asked my cousin aubrey, who was spending christmas with us, to take a picture of the three of us outside the abbey on my iphone. a few moments after she did, a stranger - a very small woman with a big camera - approached us.

she told us that she had noticed us through the crowd and, attracted to our reveling joy, had snapped a few photographs of us herself. she felt she had witnessed something special, and asked if we'd like her to email us the images she created. of course we were delighted and i jotted my email address into her phone and handed it back to her before she disappeared into the crowd after we quickly shared christmas salutations.





i forgot about that kind stranger until a few days ago, when a message popped up in my inbox from someone named zo with three pictures attached. "surprise," my new friend had written, "here's the pictures i took of your little family. it really was such a sweet moment."

the email was signed with, "until there's a chance for us to share a moment again, love, zo."

she lives in singapore - we are worlds apart. but indeed, maybe someday we will be able to share a sweet moment of life again.

i've been pondering a lot since i got zo's email on human connection - how much i love it, how much i believe it is central to the purpose of life, how i can cultivate it better. i've realized that connecting and sharing with others - those similar to me and those so so different from me - is why i love living in a big city, why i love traveling, and why i love blogging.

and i've wondered about all the eyes reading this text. who are you? what brought you to this little spot on the wide internet? what do i have to learn from you? how can we connect in meaningful (even if small) ways?

so today, dear readers, i have an invitation for you. no, actually, it's a dare.

a triple dog dare.

i triple dog dare you to leave a comment on this post.

tell me a snippet of who you are - where on earth you are reading from, what you're passionate about, how your life is similar to mine or how it is wildly different. tell me what you like about this blog, what you hate about his blog (seriously - hit me! i'd love to connect on this!), what questions you have about what i share here. tell me about something you've learned recently, or something that inspires you. tell me whatever you want. (and post anonymously if you want.) i would genuinely love to get to know each of you, even in some tiny way.

let's connect!