The Connections We Almost Missed

Hey friend,

Last week, I told you about three people who showed up for me in ways I did not expect. People I had known only briefly, and who came with a depth that left me in awe.

I really did not have a category for it.

I think I know why now.

We learnt to build hierarchies in our friendships. The inner circle gets the most access and really, the most of us. It makes perfect sense. But in doing so, we may walk past connections that might be trying to become something meaningful. We sometimes trivialise them without even realising it. Casual. One-off. Not that deep.

What if we have been doing it wrong?

I have been thinking about that question and the more I do, the more I keep coming back to my parents.

I realise my mum and dad, in very different ways (they were polar opposites) understood something about this that I am only now fully appreciating. They were genuinely good with people. To people. And the friendships that formed around them, the connections that happened randomly, the ones that continue showing up for us now they are gone, tells the full story of that.

They taught me, without ever sitting me down to say it, that how you treat people plants seeds. Seeds you may not see for years. Seeds that sometimes sprout in your hardest seasons.

I touched on this in my episode on the W.E.W.I.N. podcast. If you have not listened yet, this would be a good time.