the merry merry season

a highlight of my day today was a sponteneous conversation with an elderly man in a wheelchair on dupont street ~

do you need any help?

we struck up a conversation and, quickly, he told me how he managed, how it all happened, how he was doing. we both left feeling quite uplifted.

the feeling i had was familiar...

this is what a place like santropol roulant offers people at doorways, on sidewalks, around the table, on the phone...

EVERY DAY.

i've been thinking about connection and belonging during this celebration and holiday season, as i've been feeling the absence of that specialness of santropol roulant ~ being able to just drop in somewhere and immediately be part of a community. i realize that working everyday at santropol roulant offered me, and hundreds of others, an opportunity to connect with random people, daily.

to be in spontanerous and often surprising conversations,
regularly
to be in constant contact with people so different than oneself,
language, age, country or city of origin, life stage/phase;
to offer the best of oneself, in service
to share
help

contribute
extend
stretch out of your comfort zone
to be intimate
to go deep
hello, Mrs. Z., how are you?
to be acknowledged, greeted, appreciated,
known

and to know it matters