Connection!

Putting my FB post on here so I don't lose it =) 

Just had a stunningly amazing phone conversation with Samantha for 3.5 hours.... which may be my record. I had forgotten she liked country, and an hour into our conversation mentioned a song on the radio without thinking, only to get intelligent commentary on it and a mention of listening to Rascal Flatts on her CD player. I'm like, what? OHH! It's like when everything comes into focus... when you find someone who speaks the same language as you.

Well, not only does she like country but country radio and not only country radio but every aspect of it that I do.  She knew 92.5 was the Hartford country station, and she lives in Ohio. She knew Bob Kingsley used to do American Country Countdown and even sang the jingle to me. She knew Chapel Hill and Ballston Spa and Springfield MA and all these places I had connections to. She used country radio as security blanket in much the same way as I do, and it is so refreshing and awe-inspiring to find someone who shares quirks I never in a million years thought someone else would. She uses Radio-Locator to look up country stations before trips, like I do. She likes older country better than newer country, but used to love new music programs on the radio just like I did. When I mentioned the program on WPOC that played one new song at 430 every afternoon, she without prompting from me talked about the ones she used to listen to that play two songs and have you vote for the best - which was where I was going next, and used to be on WAYZ and WGTY in college, as well as WOKQ at home for a time. She understood the emotion behind all of my radio things that I love. So cool to have someone listen to you and go "Oh my God" or "Yes, yes!" in affirmation and understanding instead of merely tolerating you. She understood when I said I almost didn't visit the greater NYC area in college for a conference when there was no country station. She used call letters as fluently as I do, remembering them from years ago as I do. When someone can use call letters as an actual word instead of stumbling over the letters or not knowing them at all, then they're probably radio people. She knew the songs I mentioned. Sooo cool. I wish I could hold onto to that positive emotion forever. I had started to be not in a good way before talking to her, and then I was so happy to have a shared passion. Emotion is such a funny, weird, strong thing. It can and does change the entire way you experience the world, good or bad. No wonder people go to such extremes to get good and avoid bad. It is so hard to hold onto good emotion, but I try to.

Then there were good conversations about many other topics, but that was the one that, as the Doors would say, lit my fire. We talked a little about in Buddhism the difference between having a focus on doing instead of being. I feel like for some of the time in the last 24 hrs I've been able to have more of a focus on being instead of doing, which I think would be very useful. But usually I am not able to do that, and become obsessed and anxious about doing, and what I can do and what I can't. But the times I can just sit and let my thoughts run thru me and not get too attached to any of them, and enjoy simple sensory things without needing to plan for the next disaster all the time... Life would be so much easier if I could make that more into a habit. To live in the moment without always planning for a dire future. It would be nice, so we'll see if I can make it happen more.