While I was standing in the local tool shop today, I shared with the lovely men working there that I needed help fixing some things in my house. I started talking to the man next to me and he offered to help me. Just two minutes later we were in my house, sharing time and chatting about life while he was drilling holes in my wall to hang a mirror. At some point he shared that he was surprised that he was telling all these things about his personal life to a stranger.
I had to go back to the shop to borrow an electric screwdriver and when I got back, I shared with him that his words had stayed with me.
“You know what,” I said, “For me there is no such thing as strangers. I want to be open and be myself with everybody, even if I have just met them. I don’t feel there should be a difference. If there is then I ask myself, and feel, what I am projecting onto that other person that I am not being as open with.”
I pondered on this a little bit more during my day.
Why do we see people as strangers and what kind of effect does this have on our ability to connect with each other? Even the word ‘stranger’ carries a distance in it, where it feels strange, or even odd, that I could not allow myself to be fully open with that person, just because I have never met them before.
When we meet somebody for the first time, at times we have this tendency to hold back, to be reserved, maybe to judge the other by his or her appearance, how he/she acts or behaves and how he/she responds to us. Do we protect ourselves because we don’t know the other person? For me as a woman, I might hold back with a man that I have never met before and who is in my house, helping me hang up my mirror on the wall.
I chose to not hold back because it felt lovely to have this man in my house. Does this mean that I would invite anybody into my house? No, it doesn’t, because that wouldn’t be honouring of myself. The thing is I felt a connection and trust with the man at the shop from the first moment I met him and therefore I did not see him as a stranger.
For me there is no such thing as strangers, as we are all connected. Everybody is equal, regardless of where we come from, what we do, or the way we look. We are all one and the same within, each one of us, with unique qualities and talents. We all make different choices, yes, and we may live a thousand miles apart, but to me we are all one big family.
Knowing this, with every person I meet I can make the choice to meet them as loved family members or if I do hold back and find myself judging or thinking that I cannot say this or that or be this or that, then I know that I have allowed in the false idea of the stranger, the idea that I have to be different with certain people and that I cannot be open and loving with those that I meet for the first time.
It feels very freeing to be in life like this and to share myself and my love with everyone.
Now my mirror and paintings are hanging on the wall and it feels wonderful. Not only because they are finally hanging, but also because I was open to connecting and had invited someone into my home who helped me a great deal with something I could never have done on my own.
Taking the ‘old’ belief of the ‘stranger’ out of my life more and more, allows me to be more open, spontaneous, joyful and deeply connected with everybody and this feels great. I am now connecting more to all of humanity – I see the whole of humanity as my family! GREAT!
Every day I meet new people, chat with somebody on the street, in a shop, in the gym, at work or in the tram, say hello to people in the park, make eye contact, ask the supermarket assistant how she is doing, ask my neighbour for support when needed, give a compliment to somebody or start a conversation. I feel more connected with all those around me, close by and far away.
This blog is inspired by Universal Medicine and all those gorgeous people out there in the world that I meet every day.
By Mariette Reineke, Holland
Further Reading:
The simplicity of true intimacy
Heaven’s Joy – Deep Connection
A Feeling of Connection
827 Comments
My wife is great at chatting with people and I thought I was more reserved, but when I visited old friends we went shopping and my friend afterwards reported to her partner “that Christoph chats with EVERYBODY” which quite surprised me. Mostly I just connected and not a lot was said but that was a new experience for my friend.
This is key, Christoph, to be open to people does not mean we are sharing our life stories with everyone. It is a way of being that is ready to make eye contact; that is aware of people around us; that naturally has moments of perhaps wordless but totally warming smiles and that connects us with simple heartfelt greetings.
This Christoph, shows how your natural way of being and connecting with people was a whole new experience for your friend. That is a visit your friend will not forget and a great reflection and invitation to open up to people.
Mariette, you speak my language here so beautifully. I too feel we are all family, and yet I know there are certain relationships where I hold back sharing the fullness of me, but most definitely I can feel this changing and I celebrate every moment where I am opening up and expressing more.
Thank you for reminding me just now Anna to appreciate the moments that I do open up and express in manner that brings evolution instead of focusing on the times that I didn’t. Expression is everything but so is appreciation :).
I really enjoyed reading your blog and hearing about your experience. I do love when you have those moments in life that are like this. I can feel on days where I am more open these kind of things constellate and on other days where I am in an issue or hurt by something I then miss experiencing the beauty in others.
I find it interesting in those moments where an issue or a hurt gets in the way of me being open and connecting to another I sometimes walk away feeling more hurt by a knowing that I lost an opportunity to truly connect, than by what was stopping me from connecting in the first place… like I feel the enormity of a moment now lost. Its ridiculous the potential or possibilities of what we deny ourselves and others when we keep our guards up.
I too feel humanity as my family and it feels great. “It feels very freeing to be in life like this and to share myself and my love with everyone.” I agree, I make new friends all of the time by being open and me and connecting with everyone I meet. Thank you for sharing this story Mariette, I love how this man hung your mirror for you, a pertinent reminder of the amazing reflection of love you are sharing with everyone you meet.
I love this Mariette”Taking the ‘old’ belief of the ‘stranger’ out of my life more and more, allows me to be more open, spontaneous, joyful and deeply connected with everybody and this feels great. I am now connecting more to all of humanity – I see the whole of humanity as my family! GREAT!’ You are a GREAT inspiration in my life! And I fully agree there are no strangers.
Your lovely blog reminds me that as a woman in many situations I keep a safe distance from people I don’t know. From dreading to let someone with car trouble into my car, picking up a hitchhiker to feeling threatened by strangers while walking in the street in the dark. I feel stories about rape, being mugged and murder feed fear and leave a feeling of vulnerability and I am aware that they keep me cautious around people I don’t know. Unknowingly this caution might continue in seemingly safe situations. Living in a society where things can get really bad I feel we separate more and more from eachother and keep to ourselves and the ones we know. Billions of people pretending not to see eachother walking around with closed down hearts all craving to be loved. We all have that in common, we are all the same and we have so much love to give. You trusted your instinct Mariette and let a ‘strange’ man into your house. Let’s invite the whole of humanity into our houses (not all at once 🙂 ) and into our hearts and become aware of the reasons behind our choices. A different society starts with the actions we take as individuals. Let love lead the way.
“Let love lead the way.” Beautiful, Ilja, that is the way for us. And let us all be more open to letting others into our lives. We don’t have to necessarily have them all into our homes, but surely we can trust our own internal knowing on this, like Mariette did. The main thing is to stay connected to our innermost and the truth will be there. Lets have true and open connections with all we are in contact with.
Yes Beverly I agree surely we can trust our own knowing on this, as a society we drum stranger danger into children cutting them short of interaction and therefore the love of humanity when in truth they are so sensitive and able to read people and feel for themselves who is truly a safe person and who is not. By us stepping up and letting humanity in how children will feel safe to grow up knowing it is safe to do the same. Open communication with our children about what they feel when they meet people is important even when it is family members our children don’t feel safe to let in.
This is beautiful Ilja as you talk about a very important subject how we have learnt to not trust strangers as you described – all the bad things that have happen in our world and close down our hearts, keeping our hearts open to only those we know. We can keep our hearts open to each other, in that we are not saying to not be responsible about our safety…when our hearts are open we know and feel when something is not right, it comes from our bodies, not our head where we mistrust everyone even if they are completely safe to be with.
I love ‘Let’s invite the whole of humanity into our houses (not all at once)’
Yes Karoline that is so true. When we choose to stay connected with our bodies and we keep our hearts open there is nothing to fear for we can simply know and feel when something is not right.
Yes, it is all these fears that are evoked in us and that we are surrounded by from young on, that makes us shut down and not trust one another, never truly discerning whether that particular person is trustworthy or not. And that in turn hurts if we genuinely want to connect and someone shuts us out just in case, which then leads to more shut down on our side, because we do not feel seen. It is a vicious circle that we can only get out of by taking a leap and risk it again and again and again.
I agree and it is a risk well worth taking Judith. I myself am still learning to observe what is really going on inside me while engaging with other people instead of instantly reacting from my hurts again and again.
For me the more I have come to know and understand myself the more I have felt open to the connection between me and everyone else; in order for everyone else not to be a stranger, I first had to know me.
Absolutely Michael, i love the truth of what you have said!
That is really cool Michael, and a really good way of looking at it, for the more we know ourselves the less we have to hide behind something we are not which is someone with barriers of protection that naturally keep people at bay.
Yes, Michael, if we are a stranger to ourselves, how can we possibly have a closeness with another? Also, the more love we have in our lives the less boundaries and protection we put up.
Agree Michael, The more I am appreciating and accepting myself the more I appreciate and accept others and want to connect with them.
I agree Michael, when I was living very hard and disconnected with myself that was naturally my reflection to the world and therefore for the most part what was reflected back to me. Since learning to re-connect with myself and love myself more deeply, open my heart to humanity and reflect this openness that is exactly what is reflected back to me.
When I worked in a bar in Greece they had painted on the wall the saying ” there are no strangers here just friends we have yet to meet” I loved this as in truth we all come from love and are the same inside.
That is gorgeous to read Samatha, and so true: ‘ there are no strangers here just friends we have yet to meet’.
This made me smile Samantha – it is so easy communicating with others with this as a reminder ” there are no strangers here just friends we have yet to meet”.
The great thing is we can be like this with everyone without having to drink alcohol to break down the perceived barriers, then there is a deep level of true connection in the communication with another.
This is such a lovely way to look at people they are all just friends that we have yet to meet. At the end of the day we are all one big family.
You are so right Samantha, we are all strangers only once
Dear Mariette I love You sharing Your experience and just trust your feeling/knowing of the loving connection. It is a great example that inspires me to start conversations with people that I meet for the first time on the way through life with no need to see each other again…no investment just celebrating the moment together in full presence…enjoy the moment…the connection…the love 🙂
Yes I am practising that too Brendan, and I find that often awesome conversations can take place, and other times just a genuine smile can be shared. Meeting people on an equal basis opens up so much for all of us.
Mariette, the other day I was walking around in an event full of people. And I thought to myself – isn’t it strange how these people are all something to someone, yet at this moment, we are all strangers. You make an amazing point that it is very easy to meet and be with people simply because we are all connected. Sadly the easiest way to connect to someone is through a transactional relationship; they are doing work for you therefore you open your home to them right away – or through exchange of business – but what about simply just chatting to someone whilst waiting in line, or even just someone down the street. We have a fear of doing this when there is so much to say. It reminds me how we have capped our expression to be individual and private in the world rather than honour the fact that we are all connected.
Great points Hannah, I have a friend who regardless of where she is she will talk with anyone and is very open to them. Its like she carries this feeling of family anywhere she goes and people just open up to her and love this level of openness. It doesn’t make sense that we all walk around shut off from each other when everyone is craving this.
Hannah it’s profoundly humanising to connect with people who come into our homes to carry out work. Workmen have told me how it feels to be in a home and not related to as a person, merely someone there to do a job. It is beautiful to connect with and get to know each person that comes into our homes often these relationships can last for years and friendships grow. Equally, I love opening conversations with people when I’m out and about. An example of this is whilst visiting a care home, I opened up conversation with carers, learned as much about them as people as they did of me.
I have been giving this a go – talking to people when I am out and about. At first it felt awkward, but now it is flowing with more ease and people are responding to being connected with from a complete ‘stranger’. Just the other day I stopped on a walk and chatted to a man working in his front yard. In this exchange he gave me an absolute pearl of wisdom that helped me understand more deeply an energy I was exploring in myself.
I agree with you Mariette there is no such thing as a stranger it is only that we have estranged ourselves from each other and have made this our normal living thus we feel we are separate and foreign to each other but truly we are not.
I really enjoyed reading your blog Mariette and your perception of there being no ‘strangers’. As you describe it is a joyful experience treating all we meet during our day as friends not strangers, these loving connections and interactions are what life is about, staying open and sharing the love around.
I know i use my openness to people I haven’t met before as a marker how on how I am. I agree that there is no such thing as a strangers as I constant find myself in moments that being with a complete stranger is so natural. People person right here! :P.
The fact that we call people we haven’t met before strange is a set up in its self. Think about it, people who we haven’t met are automatically ‘strange’. Doesn’t this show how we have let our language isolate ourselves?
Of course some people are violent and you wouldn’t allow them into your home but to set the lowest denominator as the common denominator is a grave mistake that seperate communities.
Wise words here Luke ‘…to set the lowest denominator as the common denominator is a grave mistake…’ and I agree.
Awesome sharing Luke – I love it! I love how you have said that we cannot shut ourselves out from the whole world, just because we have been hurt by the violence and disregard of a few (or sometimes many) – for really it is about saying no to the behaviour and not to the person. A person is never bad or evil, however it is the choices we make in our behaviours and expressions that can bring much harm to ourselves or those around us and hence this is the only thing that needs correction.
And, Luke I might add about the use of language in particular the word ‘stranger’…
Sometimes we hear ourselves greeting someone we have not seen in a while and we might say ‘Hello Stranger’ – this symbolises the fact that we have not seen them or been in touch with them for a while (however short or long this ‘while’ can be). Sometimes it can feel like a distance has grown between two people when they have not been together, but usually this is a sign of a disconnection that has happened on some level and then the person walking back into your life triggers the awareness of the disconnection – which is a healing in itself.
On a completely different note, I love the openness of dogs and their unconditional love (which often can be seen in young children too) – you leave the room for 5 minutes and on your return, they great you like they have not seen you in a while. This is a great reminder and a reflection to rejoice in every moment with everyone, not matter what.
Dogs most certainly are great reflections for their humans, where we don’t ever see the kind of ‘don’t be a stranger!’ on their goodbye from the dog they’ve just met on their path, there is no goodbye, only hello, hello, oh hello…..
Yes what a great reflection dogs and young children provide – an unconditional openness that can melt any hardness. They are great at being in the moment and not carrying past hurts.
I agree with you Luke, the word ‘stranger’ carries a forbidding connotation, I am finding that I really don’t like the feel of that word. It brings to my mind the combination ‘stranger danger’, that I heard in the past as a warning to mothers regarding what to teach their children. It was suggested that all parents taught their children to fear strangers, have nothing to do with them. It feels awful now to me, seems to me that we need to bring up our children to stay connected to themselves and trust their own judgment on who to trust, not just avoid all strangers. Young children have an innate knowing of who they can trust, maybe we should listen to them.
I love what you say here Luke, we cannot “set the lowest denominator as the common denominator” we really need to set a higher standard for everyone to aspire to.
Yes Luke, openness is a great everyday marker – everything is there to reflect back to us in one way or another, basically either healing or harming.
If we all lived life from the truth of knowing we are all the same in our core essence, whatever the differences in our outward appearance or country of origin, the word ‘strangers’ would not be possible to remain in our vocabulary!
It is true Luke, the bastardisation of our use of words and language does bring different meanings and causes separation between us.
“Think about it, people who we haven’t met are automatically ‘strange’. Doesn’t this show how we have let our language isolate ourselves?”
‘…to set the lowest denominator as the common denominator ‘ – Luke that is a profound quote and says so much about how we can bring hurts of the past to poison all of our relationships.
I agree Susan. The word stranger does not feel so open and welcoming. It is wise to warn children to not speak to strangers however I do feel that this has been somewhat overdone in the way it has been delivered at times. And from this I am sure many of us carry the imprint in their adult bodies that strangers are not safe hence it causes us to be hard in our bodies when this does not need to be the case as your blog beautifully shared.
Thank you Mariette for sharing your experience with the man in the shop. The man could feel your openess to him and was therefore able to open up to you. It makes such a difference if we stay open and allow things to flow.
For the past hour and a half a group of six women have come together and communicated openly and honestly with each other. It has been gorgeous to honour ourselves in this way and deepen our inner connection and understand the games we play to keep us separated form ourselves and others. We all felt expanded with particles-a-jiggling well and filled with joy of simply being with each other without judgment or holding back. As you share so beautifully Mariette, this quality is what is available to us with every person we meet, every moment of our lives.
“Taking the ‘old’ belief of the ‘stranger’ out of my life more and more, allows me to be more open, spontaneous, joyful and deeply connected with everybody and this feels great. I am now connecting more to all of humanity – I see the whole of humanity as my family! GREAT!”
“I am now connecting more to all of humanity – I see the whole of humanity as my family! GREAT!” Beautiful post Mariette. There is an old saying that a stranger is a friend whom we haven’t met yet.
I have always loved this saying to sueq2012; ‘A stranger is just a friend we haven’t met yet’
I like what you have share here Brendan, as openness is simply a choice that starts with energy first. You can be open with people in the body but not say a word, and equally so you can be closed in the body and say much. For as long as I can remember treating all equally has always made sense to me. Money, titles, bloodlines etc are just that and should not change the way that we treat people.
“Do we protect ourselves because we don’t know the other person? ” Could it be that we protect ourselves because we would feel the enormity of our love for everybody – no matter who they are – equally . Then we could not deny the truth of what we felt, in our body. Our beliefs and images about love would be blown out the water for the false truths that they are, and we would once again know (deep down we have never forgotten this) we are all one and the same, equal Sons of God.
‘We would feel the enormity of our love for everyone’ and ourselves… we would then see that our every interaction with others and our every choice in the way we take care of ourselves is an opportunity to acknowledge, confirm and live this fact…or not.
It is the layers of protection that inhibit us from feeling that we are all equal. When we let down our walls of protection, there is nothing that then stands between two people. And if we open to feeling that space between the two, we realise that the space between the two is the same space that lies within our body and that in truth there is no separation that we all equal Sons of God.
Your words are so divine Donna – on a deeper level we are all the same. It is so crazy that often we behave in a way, if we would be different. And it is often about right and wrong, a perfect setup not to be ourselves. Love and space is the answer to be just what we are – love.
Thank you Mariette, that is beautiful! We are no strangers, we might be little less familiar with someone as their physical appearance is new to us this life, but the inner being is something we can all refer to and know.
Its so beautiful how you express so openly and truly willing to get to know everyone, that is a true and beautiful quality of you.
Awesome blog Mariette and thank you for sharing your experience here. the word stranger does immediately create distance and wariness, as if one has to be on one’s guard. In Germany there are bed and breakfast places that advertise guestrooms for rent as “room for strangers”. As if strangers do not belong…
” maybe to judge the other by his or her appearance, ” this is a massive thing we do as a society, I know I have been part of this. It’s deeply ingrained, harming and can often lead to comparison and jealousy. God does not judge, so where do we allow the arrogance to think it’s okay for us to judge?
Last week I was being served by a lovely guy who had a massive tattoo on his arm saying “Only God can judge me”. When I noticed it I simply said ‘you know God does not judge? He was open and understood what I was saying.
Judgement of ourselves and others is deeply harming yet has been such an ingrained part of society for too long. As we give up judgement we allow for true healing and magic to occur.
I love feeling the joy you have, Mariette, in opening your heart to all the ‘gorgeous’ people out there in the world. It is refreshing to read this blog when so many in the world are shutting down and living in protection.
I agree Janet… Mariettes reference to all the ‘gorgeous’ people in the world touched me also. It is true that each one of us has so much love and joy within – the more of us who are willing to share this with the world, the more others will see and feel that it’s ok to do the same.
True Janet it is refreshing to feel the open loving heartedness of Mariette, it is definitely the opposite of how most of us live our llfes.
I too loved the joy that flowed from Mariette’s blog. Her delight at trusting the connection to this man, not seeing him a stranger, is such a wonderful example of living with an open heart to which others feel and respond accordingly, is as you say, “refreshing”.
Mariette thank you for writing about the topic of “strangers” its one I’d not really considered. I love chatting with people I meet and don’t consider them “strange” yet I certainly have a belief or two about “strangers” the fact I don’t know people. Yet in an instant I can feel all about a person and surely thats far more important that finding out what football team they play for. If we make energy and feeling the quality of energy a foundation in our life then I can certainly see their is no such thing as a stranger.
This blog has also made me reflect on how I can still be reserved with people I do know, family included. Sometimes it can be easier to talk to a stranger because there is no history, unresolved hurts or expectations. You have certainly provided much for me to ponder on Mariette.
Yes the word ‘estranged’ comes to mind, someone we used to know and through whatever circumstances, choose to not know anymore on the level of previous connection. How ‘strange’ that we become ‘estranged’ rather than dealing with the issue and rebuilt true connectin …
I agree Debra it is easier sometimes to talk to a stranger due to the fact that there is no investment, and if that person rejects us or hurts us it is easy to say ‘that person was a stranger and I hardly knew him/her so it doesn’t matter’. So we brush ourselves off and carry on.
That is a great point, Julie – the lack of investment allowing us to be more open with people. So, it is not about whether we have met them before or how much we think we know them, it is our judgment and presumptions that get in the way of us feeling truly connected with one another.
That is a brilliant point Debra. It doesn’t matter who the person is or what our relationship with them is, we are prone to hold back our love and fullness from them if they trigger a hurt.
Wow Gill I love what you have shared about the word stranger and strange. It is sad that we have this subconsciously made assumptions and I wonder how much I still have . . .
I so enjoyed reading your blog this morning Mariette. Even the word ‘stranger,’ which simply refers to someone we don’t know, has a meaning with negative undertones. We tell our children ‘don’t talk to strangers,’ hinting that there is possible danger in others. Yes we have to be discerning, but your blog has inspired me to be far more open with my fellow human beings who I have not met yet.
‘My fellow human beings who I have not met yet’ – this is a new working definition that restores ‘stranger’ back into our vocabulary without all the connotations and insinuations. Love it.
I love this line too Matilda. Let’s call the Oxford English Dictionary and have it updated with this new and glorious definition of ‘stranger’ so that all can feel the brotherhood in evokes.
The freedom with which you express and share this Mariette is a lovely example of the quality you were with the man in your local shop – I feel very invited and very equal when reading this blog.
Great question Mariette Why do we see people as strangers? You share a beautiful example how we are all interconnected and all we have to do is open the door of sharing ourselves and reflecting with no reservation with another for them to do exactly the same in return. To be this way in life is as you share so freeing and joyful. Now this feels quite natural and not strange at all.
I certainly feel that the more I communicate and am open with everyone I meet, the more connected to others and life I am. It is not about a well-schooled politeness; it is about an innate understanding of humanity that I am coming home to. We really are all in this together and at our cores so much more the same that we care to comprehend.
Mariette, this is very Gorgeous to read, there is a very string idea about being open with people we know and being cautious with ‘strangers’, this is very strong with children, many parents talk to their children about ‘stranger danger’, they tell their children ‘not to talk to strangers’, and so children become shy, cautious and unsure around people they do not know, either that or they just do what is natural for them and start talking with whoever they feel to whether they know them or not and have a very anxious parent hovering close by or calling them back.
I have never told my son ‘not to talk to strangers” and it is amazing to watch how open and himself he is with people, he is the same with people he knows as he is with people he does not know – it is very joyful for me, him and those he meets the way he engages with people.
Great topic Mariette, the term stranger brings up feelings around danger and children, how we condition our children from a young age to be wary of strangers in case they may look to cause harm. Of course there is a need to be wary in some ways but often this carries into a mistrust of everyone and it feels like we diminish our opportunities for connection because of one or two people who are hurtful. Like Mariette, if we trust our feelings more then no-one need be a stranger and we can discern who we feel we might let into our life, while staying open in our hearts with everyone.
Distrust brings so much negativity to our world and unfortunately our press and media often insight more of it -unnecessarily so.
By being open we are more able to discern the person and the situation, if we go in blind already with judgement and fear we miss out on the natural magic that can happen between people.
Thank you Mariette, you have given me much to ponder on – I tend to say hello to some people and not others, it depends on how open I am feeling. There is the excuse of not wanting to intrude on another’s life, but it could be more – not wanting to be seen. Why not say hello to everyone we meet? Obviously in a busy city that’s not really possible, but in a shop, on a quiet street – making eye contact and smiling and saying something is perfectly possible. Of course they can choose to ignore us, some grunt by way of reply, but sometimes there is a delightful connection. Walking into a doctor’s waiting room or onto a bus – do we just sit down in silence or do we say hello to our fellow man?
In a big city it might be a bit hard to say hello to everyone but I feel the openness I have with other people is me saying hello anyways so in a sense I am saying hello to everyone : )
We have 100’s of opportunities each day to make new friends, when we are open people relate to us and drop their guard. Just today I meet a beautiful lady called Rosanna on the check out at our local super market. After our interaction I felt I had learnt loads about her and it was great to feel this connection. I went out with far more then just shopping.
Ï relate to what you say about walking on a quiet street and making eye contact with people, “Of course they can choose to ignore us, some grunt by way of reply, but sometimes there is a delightful connection”. I experience this on a regular walk on a local boardwalk beside the lake. I now tend to say hello or good morning to almost everyone I pass on the way. It is interesting to see the reactions of various people, and it varies considerably during holiday periods when many people from the city join us on the boardwalk. City life can be very busy, far more people about, which means one does not say hello to everyone they pass in the street. But I have had some lovely connections through being open to people while I am walking, have met some lovely people and stopped for a little conversation. And, yes, I have experienced the ‘grunters’ too .
Mariette a great sharing of how beautiful life can be if we do not hold back. Each and everyone of us has so much to share, it would be, and is, a shame that we choose how much and to whom to we do share with. We create so many labels of differentiation…friends, lovers, family, strangers…yet we are all people first and foremost.
actually we aren’t even people we are souls and energetic beings that inhabit a body, we really are all the same and equal in the core of our beings, the fact we get so caught up with what we see is our major downfall.
This sentence is powerfully exposing of how the falseness of our thoughts can rule us and make us live as lesser than we are, thus keeping us in the illusion of separation and isolation from other people.
” if I do hold back and find myself judging or thinking that I cannot say this or that or be this or that, then I know that I have allowed in the false idea of the stranger, the idea that I have to be different with certain people and that I cannot be open and loving with those that I meet for the first time”.
I love reading this light and refreshing blog and can feel why this man who helped you was open to sharing with you so easily as he too would have felt the openness and warmth within you which means there was no strangeness just a willingness to connect in this moment. Thank you Mariette for a gorgeous and inspiring read 🙂 mmm
Thank you Mariette! I am totally inspired and infused with warmth and joy throughout my body from reading your blog. Openness and equal-ness with all, along with discernment and honouring yourself is a beautiful way to be. It is then clear to see we are all are one big family.
I have just to ponder on my commute to work on public transportation in London at the sea of people that lock themselves in their bubble from everyone around them. The short list that covers them is; sleeping, reading papers, books, real or electronic, listening to music, watching a video. The number one is a phone in their hand that allows you to do a combination of the list above. The occasional person is working on their laptop, and the rarest is the people talking to each other… they are more likely to be tourists that don’t know the proper educate. The craziness of it all just makes me smile.
Over the years its been my observation that the more crowded together we are, for example living in a city, crammed into an underground tube, the less likely we are to talk to each other.
Yes so true, makes no sense does it? And nowadays, maybe even as a result of that disconnectedness, we see the reflection in the majority of people being connected to their phones!
It is such a shame, Steve that what you have described is how it is on most public transport in cities now. Your short list says it all, and is what I have experienced when visiting a big city in Australia. I left the city life many years ago now, it is certainly not conducive to people connecting in the street, or on public transport. People put up the barriers to connection with strangers quite strongly. And I find that many of them often bring that pattern into their holiday periods when visiting the town where I live. These are often the people who totally ignore me when I say ‘good morning’ or the like when passing them on our local boardwalk around our lovely lake. What a shame that they do not want to connect with others.
Yes Steve it is indeed crazy. And such an apt description “the sea of people that lock themselves in their bubble from everyone around them” I find this to be also true in my part of the world, its as if everyone lives in a bubble.
It is such a great way to live with the awareness and understanding that, “We are all one and the same within, each one of us, with unique qualities and talents.” Innately as children we all do this and it is so joyous to regain that connection with oneself and humanity as you express so beautifully Mariette.
Living like you describe it, Mariette, also immensely deepens the love between you and your partner. The more open I have been with people during the day, the deeper I am able to connect with my partner, which is my marker for where I am at with loving and letting love in.
Super great point Felix, we can not be unloving and short with some people and then expect to be loving with our partner when we get home and visa verser. Love has no boundaries -We are the ones that create the walls.
Well said Felix and Samantha – love is not love if used with the convenience of an ‘on and off’ switch depending upon which room you are in. Love is an ever-present-constant quality, no matter what. We have built so many walls to protect our individual selves and perceived hurts and commitment and work is needed to expose these and step by step, dismantle them to once again return to our natural state of being and reflect the infinite potential that love is.
It sure does require commitment and work to expose all that gets in the way Stephanie I am like a tigeress with my hurts protecting them like crazy which just results in more hurts! Seriously crazy but I am bringing more understanding to all of this madness and know it is only I who will let myself out of the self imposed prison.
The beauty of connecting to people and not seeing someone you have not yet met as ‘strange’. Being open to the possibilities of having a relationship with everyone however short dismantles the barriers we so often erect between us and the world which we think will protect us but in reality keep us in separation – a lonely place to be. Thank you for sharing your lovely interaction with the man in the tool shop and the mutual benefits for both of you of your openness and willingness to trust the connection you felt. Only when we discard the false beliefs around ‘stranger danger’ and use our sixth sense to be discerning with everyone we meet will humanity become one family again.