Rare Air

There are moments when you walk into a room and the air is unlike the rooms you’ve just come from.  When you shake someone’s hand and walk away thinking about the conversation you had, or the simple quality of the exchange.  ‘Thinking about’ is the wrong term here.  Sensing is more like it.

I’m not talking about some pretty face or romantic interest here; maybe it’s a business associate, a family you meet, or a classroom exchange.  Something felt different and worth investigating.  That’s all you need – just that sense.  It’s not a logic or a proof – in fact its the opposite: more of a hunch.  My challenge to you in such a moment is to investigate it.  Take a small action toward that curious encounter.  It might be a phone call, placed first with the intention of learning more and having an open mind.  Or it might be to stop in again next week and see what the next whiff is like.

Thinking about it is generally, in my experience, a way to dull the sense, flatten it.  Another way to lose track of it is to share it more than you’re truly inspired to, if you are at all.  Thirdly, there’s a gestural quality to it, meaning it can’t be held on to, but simply noted. The bold option is to investigate without knowing more, to step toward it and check in with yourself again.  Being an expert, or thinking you know what’s important before you experience it, these are ways to be sure you miss it entirely.

It might be the collaboration, friendship, client or partnership that will guide you to the center of your life.  You can be sure it won’t look the way you thought it would, which is why  it’s worth investigating.