The last few months have been busy with a couple of apartment moves and unexpected items to address. I have found that although I enjoy writing and feel great satisfaction when I upload a blog post, I have been delinquent in doing so. Perhaps others are like myself—we avoid daily routines, be it exercise, meditation, or the like—even though we are reminded time and again that doing so virtually always leads to a sense of well-being.
I unwittingly came upon a ritual that has been a catalyst for writing again. For the better part of the month, during October and through Thanksgiving, I have been “featuring” one of my friends for a “shout out” on Facebook. I have lots of friends on social media…some are lifelong friends, others are colleagues. I have folks with whom I studied or met through volunteer activities. There are “friends of friends” and people that I don’t even know how I connected with. However, through the Facebook community, we remain in touch, learning about each other’s lives, hopes, challenges and more.
My first candidate for this experiment was a woman with whom I attended junior high and high school. Although we ran in different circles back then, coming to know her online, I am continually amazed at her caring nature, attentiveness to friends, and her ability to plow through personal challenges. Since then I’ve featured many former colleagues, former interns, and casual acquaintances. I started adding pictures to the post, and soon many others were commenting about my honorees.
I’ve tried to do this each morning, to fulfill a promise to myself. And, it really does feel good. Here’s a collection of recent tributes.