transparency

I rather habitually listen to podcasts while out for my run. One favorite is Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett. The other day I was particularly moved by a posthumous airing of an interview with the Irish poet John O'Donohue. During the course of the interview, he commented on the way in which Western culture is such that people have developed the capacity to move through daily existence with little, if any, substantive human interaction--we can simply cycle through shallow conversations without noticing how parched we are for touching at a heart level.
So tonight, after an evening lingering over heart-felt conversation, I muse on the blessing of friends with whom such connection is possible. It has not always been: there have been times when my life circumstances, role, and location, have prevented such a blessing. As such, I do not take this blessing lightly--rather, I feel a bit heady with the joy of conversation that flows effortlessly, heedless of the passage of time. This, I think, is one of the things we were created for: to connect with another created soul. To speak out loud words which come out spurred only by the sounding board of another. To be moved to tears at the beauty of a transparent friendship . . . and God saw that it was good.