We Are All Connected

On a bright yellow sunny afternoon in early February I visited the lovely town of Franschhoek with my family. We often frequent this beautiful small town with its amazing heritage and breathtaking scenery. Old buildings, farms, vineyards, art galleries, funny little shops with crystals and stones, herbs and elixirs. It often hosts a Sunday Market in the middle of town, where vendors showcase their crafts and arts, musicians play live song, surrounded by the most intense flavours of local cuisine.?

As we were browsing through the stalls, from old hats and beads, to pictures of people I have never heard of before, we came across the regular second hand book seller. With her typical magical local accent, she was eagerly greeting passerby customers, hoping to engage in a lively conversation about the amazing stock she has on offer. I lazily flipped through the books while my wife was looking for some specific titles. There were books about old button collections, some historic wars, making wine, and something about joint and bone surgery (which I dropped very quickly as I am a little squeamish when it comes to these kinds of things). I don't often find much of interest in these collections, as most of the good stuff are already in someone's private collection, but this day something caught my eye. A small little book, with a nondescript navy cover, jumped out at me. I turned it over to read the summary on the back, and within a few sentences I was entranced. It was as if this book was waiting there for me, just sitting there, patiently biding its time until I walked by, and then pounced. The Five People You Meet In Heaven the cover reads, by Mitch Albom. “I never heard of this one before, nor the author”, I think, as I page through the first few pages. I read the opening, and I just know that this is something I must read.

Fast forward a few hours. We are back home, and I am quietly sipping my coffee while reading my new treasure. I get so enthralled by the story line, the characters and the amazing message, that I end up finishing the book in one sitting. Mind you, I don't read that fast, it's a shortish book with small pages, so I managed in a few hours. But it's just so good that there was no putting it down. The mix of emotions, from excitement, happiness, joy, to sadness, regret, anger, that this book awakens, it's just intoxicating.

A few days later, I share this treasure with some friends and colleagues, and I am excitedly and enthusiastically informed that another of these gems exist by the same author, something called Tuesdays with Morrie. I race online to see if I can get my hands on a copy, order it, and when it arrives a couple of days later, I plonk down and emerge myself into what turns out to be another ripper. Pretty much finished the second one on the same day too, but the same thing goes for this one, it's a small book, so it is a quick read.

Now. What was so special about these 2 books that I had to write this piece about it and hope someone gets to read this? Why would I want someone to take the time and open themselves up to what can only be perceived as two truly heart wrenching stories??

The lessons and insights that they leave you with. The truly beautiful and amazing sense that we are all here, together, busy figuring things out, trying to get by, and that it is all connected. It's all so quick too, and if we squander our moments, we end up with a book filled with blurry pictures of memories we can barely remember. Life is short (even though it's the longest thing you will ever do), and while we are looking down, trudging through our day to day, we miss the beauty all around us, the lovely people that add richness to every moment, the amazing, intense experiences that are right there with us, the music, the smell of fresh cut grass, the morning breeze, the birds, the laughter of children, the small squeeze of a hand form a loved one, dancing in the rain, ice cream at the beach, crackling of a warm fire, a walk in nature, the warm smile from someone that you don't know. And what can you give in return, what do you have to offer this amazing world? You have everything that is you, your uniqueness of you. There is no right or wrong you. There is only passionate and caring you, there is loving and accepting you. There is sharing and supporting you.

These two books echoed a message I have been hearing over and over, louder more recently.?

Slow down, take your time, care a lot, give freely, love wildly, and make sure that those around you feel this intensely.