Yes, there is a “You”, and then another “you”: major and delightful cleavage to compose with. The capital-letter-ones are a small and very strong collection of supporters, with great ideas and offering challenging perspectives to grow and breathe better. I learn a great deal with and from them: I pay attention, even when my mind wanders (and it does sometimes, for my sanity or just because it feels good). Does that sound way too “out there, and lovey-dovey”? Possibly, and I take it upon myself: to be a believer and a lover of positive thinking. As long as it does not take me down to some secluded state of ignorance, or denial, I am all for it.

I actually want to thank the other you’s, the ones who have chosen to divorce from the views we once shared, to take a different path, sometimes condemning and judging the choices I made for myself, deliberately or unintentionally. I have made mistakes, many of them actually. I have hurt people, friend’s feelings and my apologies were only a minuscule expression of my recognising my wrongdoing. The energy I spent trying to correct my faux pas has sometimes exhausted my desire to continue nurturing, or even enjoying, those relationships which had turned into a one-way traffic, where I had let the blind eye or the deaf ear take over what used to be a respectful and thoughtful communication.

However, I am not tired of experiencing both the salutes and the scratches, while the former is way more fun. My readings and encounters, in everyday life and with clients, have guided me towards some relief from the guilty moments I got part of: that does not make me innocent, only more aware, and likely more responsible. I keep learning, stumbling and picking myself up from the looks, the words and the gestures from the You’s and the you’s. I keep my senses open too, to detect opportunities to seize, and others to just keep quiet and move on: unsure if it comes with age, it certainly adds more options with the variety of You’s and you’s I get to interact with: and what a lesson!

I am grateful for all of this, them and you, and You of course. I intend to share more life adventures, and create, with you and You, client, friend, family and stranger, integrating the former, current and future of each one. And I truly mean it. Although Life goes smoother with a smaller number of you’s, I still want to thank you for shaping my acceptance and resilience skill throughout the years: the wounds were all worth the grief. As for You, well, thank You for walking with me.

Photo credit © Olivier Borgognon Photography – “Day 91/365 – I raise my glass to”