Solace for a Grieving Heart

I met my friend Ryan for coffee two weeks ago.   (You first met Ryan in Solace for a Grieving Heart #2.)  He was in town for a little R&R after all the upheavals in his life; he’d lost a job, moved across country for a new one, gotten a divorce, all within six months.

I said to him, “Next year has got to be better for you than this year.”

His reply was a laugh, followed by, “Losing that job got me into a new town that I like and a job that has my creative juices flowing again.  My marriage was stifling me.  Without all of this, I never would have known how much I love to dance.”

I thought, “I’ve got to stick around this guy.  Let his attitude rub off on me.  He’s approaching Buddha-hood here.”

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Invisible Women

In the middle of a trendy, hip, upscale restaurant a woman of 55 came unhinged, setting shock waves blasting through the affluent clientele.  I wasn’t there, but my friend, Marlys, was among the five women seated with the woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

With her flare for sharing dramatic details, Marlys painted the picture for me of what happened to her friend, Stephanie.

Stephanie, as envisioned by the artist Joan Miro

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