Shining Stars

"Wow, wow and wow" Only a sentence a friend and I will understand. I have been away from the computer and any electronics for a week! I'm going to leave it as a mystery and write of the wonders of complete strangers. My friend and I had the pleasure of meeting more then several different people from all over the world. All different walks of life........I was so thrilled to meet such wonderful individuals that shared their lives with us. I want to write about this one lady that not only remains fondly in my memories but has made a lasting impression and future friends hopefully always. This lady was what I would call a shining star. She had many life stories, lots of hurdles and today she's here for a reason - a reason I believe to inspire many with her experiences, her knowledge and her graceful positivity. She lit up every room, she had this infectious laughter and it was so honoring for me to hear some of her past stories. Her advice was lifting and I am forever grateful. I can remember some conversations and she's a wise woman. For privacy reasons I'm not getting into any details but I wanted to announce that there is really, really, really amazing people out there, all over our world. I already knew this of course and obviously all of us do but during this week my friend and I reached out, spoke out and met wonderful strangers. Some remain strangers, some I would say are now our friends. This post is directed to people in general who pass each other daily. Of course I'm guilty because if I spent my time stopping every stranger, I wouldn't get anything done. What I find, 80 percent of strangers will have a short conversation. In that 80 percent, I'm guessing 50 percent are indeed inspirational in one form or another. Which leads my thoughts questioning, "Why are we not giving more time to someone we don't know?" I'm guessing we're always in a hurry or we're afraid to approach one another. Perhaps there is a lack of trust and faith in our populating world but why not give it a try? What is there to loose? This week for me was a reminder that each and every one of us are really amazing. All of us bring something to the table of life and that's not something to be ignored. For example; another young lady we met from Croatia (first name Lana) is an extremely hard working individual that provides for strangers daily in her life. Her position somewhat "serious" in nature deals with the public. We had the pleasure to be her guests many times over and she explained, "We were the best group she has had because most don't acknowledge her" I find that sad. More so, it's their loss for not speaking with this beautiful young lady. A lady that is away from home, away from family for 6-8 months or more working not only for herself but for her family. She explained that it took her 6 months to save for this computer Ipad thing so she can skype and see her family. Not only did she buy this so she can communicate to her family, she bought one for her brother too. When she was asked if her brother was paying her back.......her response was, "Oh no, he's family, my brother" Even reflecting back, writing about this conversation brings tears to my eyes. Here is a young lady working hard 10-12 plus hours a day for 6-8 months away from her family, a wonderful daughter, a wonderful sister to a family and most don't acknowledge her. This is just one example that happens daily everywhere to anyone and it simply boils down to the lack of human compassion. It shouldn't matter where you're from, who you are, what work you do.........people are and have amazing personalities and different gifts to share given the chance. I felt honored to have met the people I did during this week. I had a brief conversation with my friend about different cultures, different families within different countries and one thing I've noticed in our area, we lack that family closeness, connection and the importance of what matters. Which is unity. Normally sisters aren't buying brothers Ipads without seeking payment, or working so hard to enhance the whole family. What I notice is a separation, a individual "out for one" type family units around here. So it was really refreshing to once again be reminded that there is a younger generation of special people out there still very compassionate about their family, their parents and their siblings. Respect. A trait my husband and I always try and teach our children to have. Lana is a beautiful girl and I know she makes her Mother proud. I could go on and on.......oh yes......on and on about many different people we've met this week but more likely I've already lost you with my rambling within this post. Basically my conclusion but never to end..........greet your strangers, your neighbors and give people the time of day. I might not look like a shining star either but you know what......if you don't acknowledge, you will never know and those shining stars will pass by as quick as the falling ones in the sky - me.