Sunday Reflections: You're so easy to love

One of my favorite yoga teachers tends to open class with some sort of "centering" exercise in which one begins some deep breathing and light stretching. She also asks us to "think about someone that is easy to love..."

So, today, in light of the most recent experiences, I'm thinking of three people in my family in particular who are the easiest people in the world for me to love... Don't misunderstand- I love ALL my people, blood or chosen... but these people are the easiest for strange reasons...

First, there's my Uncle Phillip. Now, Uncle Phillip and I see each other, maybe, two or three times per year if we're lucky or he pulls together a family reunion. He's the hardest for me to understand... the deacon of a Mormon church, the youngest brother of my dead grandfather's siblings, lives in Fredericksburg, has virtually no interests in common with me... and yet, I am so terribly in love with him. It makes NO sense, but, he is among my absolute favorite people and I have NO idea why. I'm not saying you need reasons for loving people, but some scenarios are easier to believe than others. It's one of my truest loves, I think, because it makes so little sense...

Secondly, there's my Uncle John. He was one of my closest friends during a critical growth spurt in my life (teens). He and I had loads in common... music, father issues, theater, fancy dinner parties, a desire to become better, etc. He dropped off the face of the planet a few years back, but he was found again. We're not as close as we used to be at all, but, I hope one day that will change. He works best in proximity (the closer you live to him, the better your chances of having him in your life), so, it probably won't be anytime soon... but he was like a brother, a friend, a father, an uncle, and a colleague all in one beautiful person. I miss him so very much...

Thirdly, there's my cousin, Jacqueline. We don't spend as much time together as I'd like... in fact she only just moved back to the US after spending a full year working in Scotland in the past week or so. She and I are about as different as you can get in terms of surface personality... I'm loud, she's shy. I'm brazen, she's clumsy but cautious. I'm opinionated, she'd rather not talk about it. I speak my mind before most if not all people, she finds only a few safe corners in a few safe people in which she can release and be herself. There are times that I wish I were her older sister... I wish I had had more exposure to her in a better environment than either of the emotionally confused ways in which we were raised. I can imagine we would be closer, I would have someone to protect, and she might have a little more self-confidence (I am speculating on a hypothetical, of course, but I've noticed how the presence of certain people changed everything about me and who I have become). I am happy she's back, though I'm sure her ideas of home have been shaken.


I love you all... there's no logical explanation for it, but, there it is.