The one about my beautiful friend

Heading on to Utah. The landscape from Twin Falls through southern Idaho is breathtaking, even from a major highway, which I decided to travel on to make better time. The mountains in Utah just took my breath away. The sun dancing on them, glistening, reflecting, the golden color of the rock awakens you, you feel awake and alive. Every cell of your body just pulses like a heart beat, or a river. My friend is like that -- so alive.

She is the most beautiful person in the world -- to me anyway. I wonder at times if she knows the effect she has on me, or others. When you look at her she is just the most stunning human being. She radiates such beauty, love, kindness, so full of spirit that comes from deep inside and explodes. I'm not referring to just her physical appearance. That too is stunning. We met several years ago and clicked, as though we were old friends. Like all friendships ours went through  a test. We had a falling out a while back, but now we're back on an even keel. We didn't communicate with each other for a while, but I thought of her often. Dreamt about her, wondered what she was doing at certain moments. Hoped she was happy. Looking back now the years that we didn't speak were the loneliest, saddest time of my life. I missed her deeply. Deep in my heart I always knew we would come full circle and be friends again. And here I was heading to see her after thirteen years!

We have this wonderful, beautiful connection that you just can't explain in words. Recently I read a Hindu quote that explains it to a degree -- "There exists something that cannot be described." Emerson's explanation of a friend, and a favorite quote of her's: " A friend is one before whom I may think aloud." I was so excited about seeing her again. I arrived in her city and seemingly hit every light leading to her house. She lives in the most beautiful place. Surrounded by mountains and nature. I felt like a child with great anticipation sitting at a light that never seemed to change. In front of me the most beautiful mountain towering over the city. Finally I arrived at her house, knocked on her door and there she was, so beautiful. She doesn't seem to realize what a beautiful sight she is. We hugged, so amazingly that it goes through you. I missed her so much. Moments like this, times reconnecting with such wonderful friends who have made such a difference in your life are so meaningful, so extraordinary. I've experienced this more than once on my trip. I feel so fortunate in many ways. I wonder at times what it all means, why am I experiencing this now. It is a very fulfilling experience and time for me. I feel so full of love. I am bursting. I feel blessed at this moment. 

We chatted over tea and I pulled a rock out of my jeans pocket that I collected in Idaho. One of those rocks that just seemed to jump out at me. When I walk I like to roll a rock around in my hand and try to experience it's energy. Wondering how it came to be in the place I plucked it from. She gasped…we both love to collect rocks, but only learned this about each other at this moment in time. I learned later she has much more of a rockhounding problem than I do! She showed me a recent rock collection she had, and we talked about the rocks and their nature and how beautiful they are. Their shape and size, and energy, and how they can sometimes speak to us. We caught up with each other's lives and dreams; we talked about nature and life, and also where to go the next day. 

A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature. RWE