I heard a man speak about his experience finding other men who struggled with the same issue he did. It was as if he came out from under a fog. He was not the only one. That deceptively minute detail made a difference. If others had dealt with it, maybe he could too.
In my short life I have aligned myself with
people who share an interest, or a concern that I do. Quilters. Family members of a person with mental illness. Or autism. Mothers of incoming freshman girls. Chicken aficionados. Cousins. Clergy spouses. Parents of twins. Confused parents of naughty teenagers. Altos.
Even that slender thread of regard is pivotal in tying an otherwise motley group together.
Recently a woman described one of my stories as having
universality. It was a particular vignette about a certain person. And yet this reader had found the story to fit her life too. Like those one size fits all stretchy hats. If your ears are cold, put it on. No matter how far the circumference of your head, or the color or curliness of your hair. You could be completely bald and it will warm you in a snowstorm. Maybe not ward off a blizzard, but it helps.
The word resonated for me. We are, after all,
more alike than we are different. Oh our personalities vary like the migratory birds winging above our heads when cooler weather arrives. Our incomes, and love languages, and body structure are different enough to keep things interesting.
But all those attributes aside, we want to love and be loved.
