I've noticed I get caught in a lot of hour-long conversations with strangers. I once met a man from Israel and talked to him for four hours at a cafe, once at the gym a woman told me she felt extremely connected to me as if we had met in another life, at the grocery store, getting my hair cut, and now in the line for coffee. This man told me he needed to tell someone his "story" that happened to him the day prior. We sat under a blooming cherry blossom and the petals fell periodically over the two hours we spoke. And details aside, this man poured out all of his thoughts in the most eloquent, open way I respected so much. I sort of just let him speak his mind and as a result really felt connected to him because of his honesty. The conversation poured on. It was one of the most authentic interactions I've had in the last few months.

A few things he said that I jotted down
"So much of what you have and do is a way of protecting yourself from letting anything original approach you"
"One cannot learn in a high pressure environment"
"People create drama just to feel like they exist"
"We are all one consciousness, we all have the capacity to tap into that aspect of ourselves"
"I have friends who are 97 and 16, age doesn't change who gets it and who doesn't, who you connect to and who you don't."
"Everything now is a parody of a parody"
We fluttered around the topics of chance and how most of interaction and everyday life today is centered around creating and evaluating stress.
We talked about David Bohm and J Krishnamurti's talks, about words, about music, about the brain, about relationships.
I asked to take his photo.

What I took away, though, is just a great reminder that there is not just one way to grow up or live, not one way to look at what is normal or good or bad. That sounds so obvious but I really lost touch of that fact in college because sometimes it feels like everyone at UC Berkeley is going to move onto graduate school in 4 years and spends their free time watching Netflix. And when you don't feel fulfilled settling with surface relationships and hobbies, when it might seem like most do, you question yourself as a result. Trust your personal truth because it is that that will lead you to something wholesome.
So grateful for true connection, cherish those people.
All my love
Molly