ilisten, iconnect, itouch

Thanksgiving morning I awoke thinking of Steve Jobs and all he did for the world.  This might have made sense or at least not been unusual if I were an 'i anything' kind of person. My cell phone's over four years old, my preferred pad's a pad of paper and I still have a land line.

Yet I awoke thinking of Steve Jobs and my neighbor Wendy. I had dropped in on Wendy two nights prior.   I had gone out at 6:30, now long after dark, to lay to rest my raised beds.  It just didn't seem right celebrating Thanksgiving and the fruits of the earth without first bringing closure to my tiny garden and honoring its presence in my life. That's when the seed was planted that I should turn the corner and walk up the street to wish Wendy a Happy Thanksgiving. 

We first met in the fall of 2005. I consulted with her about getting dental braces. My father's cancer worsened and I never followed up.  Fast forward six years. I decided to see her again but she had left the prior practice.

After tracking her down, I made a second appointment six years later and learned in the intervening years that Wendy had become my neighbor and we had multiple common connections including dear three legged cats.  

I debated spontaneously knocking on her door.  I don't typically drop in on people except for my 'adopted' family now a few streets over and Judy across the street.

My intuition overruled present societal protocol. I listened. I walked. I knocked and Wendy came to the door albeit apprehensive. Think about it. Today when someone knocks I suspect a solicitor or someone casing the house before a potential break in.  People simply don't visit anymore.

I didn't intend to go in. I was happy standing at the door just saying have a good holiday but Wendy insisted I come in.  We sat in the floor, enjoying wine and talked as her dear cat of whom I'd heard gave me the honor of loving him.

Thanksgiving morning I lay in bed realizing I am an i-something person.

i listen
i connect
i touch

My neighbor and I enjoyed a spontaneous fifteen minutes of face to face, voice to voice, heart to heart connection that still at least for me has a richness that texting, tweeting or even face booking can't quite match.

Whether i knock, i phone, i touch, or text, tweet or get linked, most importantly I realized whatever I do iopen and ilove.

What about you?

-Dawn! The Good News Muse, 28 November 2011

dawn@imaginetheshift.com