Last week was an interesting week. Eh, interesting doesn’t seem like the right word. But that’s kind of just what it was. Interesting. At the beginning of last week I was invited to play kickball (thanks friend….glad y’all didn’t have to forfeit) and that was super great. It was nice to get outside, just have some light-hearted fun and hang out with some strangers. It was good and the weather was fantastic. I hadn’t played kickball literally since middle school and no, I’m not any better, but it was still fun. It’s amazing what getting outside will do to your soul.
I’m a homebody. There’s no way around it. Sometimes I loose track with how much time I spend at home getting different things done and completely forget to refuel by going out, seeing friends and just experiencing life. Days go by quick and before you know it, you’ve spent almost a whole month without human contact other than your current roommates. Is that depressing? I’m not depressed but it’s easy to get lost in your daily routine and forget about doing the things your soul needs. We need people interaction. We need sunshine. We need fun. We need laughter. Yes, I’m a homebody. There’s no way around it. But my soul also craves these other things and NEEDS them. There’s no way around that either. So I’ve got to make it a priority and that hit me kind of hard last week.
After an afternoon of kickball with my friend, I was given startling news about another friend. News that strikes every vein in your body. News that you probably wouldn’t otherwise here if you were sitting at home doing your normal things. It hit me hard and I didn’t know how to react. And I still don’t entirely know how but I do know that I felt it, deeply. I felt it in my gut. It was hard to hear. It was hard to respond. I wanted to do and say the right thing - but how do you know? I needed time to swallow what I was feeling but the night went on, as all nights do.
Later in the evening I ran into a friend from high school and his mom. It was rather refreshing. We never really knew each other that well in high school but as the night went on, friendship seemed like a very mediocre way to describe our relationship. The conversation flowed so naturally. It was vulnerable and personal. I shared an emotional connection with one of the stories his mom told and I could feel my eyes start to tear up. I tried to hide it away but I was in a position where I really wanted to share what I was feeling in my heart. I wanted to verbally share my emotions with people who were before 7:00pm, only acquaintances. But the night began to end, as all nights do, and I left with those words still lingering in my heart.
Needless to say, the drive home that night was a bit emotional. I left thinking to myself, “how many emotions can a person feel in one day?!” It was just a lot and I know I’m not the only one that experiences this. It’s just that I hadn’t really made time to go do things in the month prior to this night. Once I went out, everything was kind of uprooted.
I felt happiness and I felt despair all in one night. All within 6 hours. It was a lot. It made me sad. It’s difficult to put the right words to that night. But, in summation, I was reminded that “this is life”. The ups and downs - that’s life. And life is beautiful. We have to remember that. While there’s nothing wrong with the normal things we do day in and day out, it’s still important to get out and do the things that aren’t planned into each and every day. It is the unexpectedness of life that intrigues me and lights my soul on fire. I guess I had forgotten. I’m so glad I was reminded. Life has a way of doing that sometimes.
Alex