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maryannpetersen.com Podcast
I'm glad it was you!
9
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-3:50

I'm glad it was you!

Loving states shared
9
1

I explained why I was holding her undone bike lock. The thing had fallen apart as I moved my bike away from the rack. I wondered what would happen if the bike owner showed up and thought I was stealing her bike. But I wasn’t and she said, “I’m glad it was you!”

Today at work I was talking with a patient and it turned out we both took care of our dying moms. Within 10 minutes we were sharing stories about things that happened. He told about the place where she rested, the light, the colors, the chair by her bed. I told about the potatoes I dug up in the backyard garden and mashed with butter, which she liked and could eat. I love you for that, he said.

We gave each other nice supportive words, and they had weight.

I think when people are in love they are nicer. Sometimes I can be in love in ordinary life with another person who is not my lover but is another person I am in the same space with, even briefly.

If living in love can be a daily practice it just naturally builds and expands. It goes outward without fear, invites more kinds of love to exist. 

I met some in love people last night for an evening and it manifested as generosity. I benefitted. We all did. Even the people in love because it reflected back on them.

On a previous evening I delivered candidate signs around town and got to pet dogs and cats, ate figs and shared cookies and realized the value of drop-in visits. Like, it was really fun. There was a purpose, but it was loose and light and nothing great expected and so was more rewarding in the doing of it. If anything it made me want to do it again. I may just organize some drop-in visits for another Friday night after the election. There will be work to do.

Speaking of work, I am pretty good with an axe but it’s been a few years. I swung a double axe, a labrys, a few weeks ago at an old stump and managed to break it up after an hour. I got 6 duck eggs and a bottle of Prosecco in return. I was tired but happy.

It was a time of sensations because a few days later my water heater stopped working and the bath water was unheated. I could have showered at the gym of course but it seemed like the perfect time to do an in-house cold plunge so I did. Once out and dry from the cold bath, I felt very good. Sort of a grounding tingling.

When people are in loving states they’re nicer. When they love themselves they are more effective.

Thanks for listening. I’m glad it was you! 

Thanks to everyone who inspired this post.

Music: Morcheeba The Sea, Big Calm

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