You know what I find truly fascinating?

You know what I find truly fascinating? It's the capability of our minds to let the tiniest things in which create an immeasurable difference in our lives. Let's just say it's the gloomiest week of the year and you've spent every night in, watching old Simpsons reruns, pulling on that whiskey bottle you keep in the freezer, trying anything to forget about how unfulfilled you are with your job, your body, your mental affairs. The breezy air outside no longer invigorates, but rather seems to drag on your sleeves and fill your lungs with erstwhile sighs. You handle each conversation with a delicate balance of half-hearted chuckles and pre-packaged answers, deliberately deflecting all external indications that your universe may not be as colorful as you let on. You see couples shuffling out of cafes full with tiramisu and playful banter, holding each others gaze just a little too long so you know they're in love... you walk by them, turn the music up in your headphones and think about what that used to feel like... what that warmth did to you after a long day. You drive home well past midnight and secretly hope you hit nothing but red lights. Your favorite moment everyday is the one right before you fall asleep...

Then, on some idle Thursday, you receive a call from someone who you thought forgot about you years ago. Or perhaps it's someone you've known all along. And they innocently say that they had a fantastic dream about you, or that they found an old letter you wrote them and it made all the difference. They tell you that they have a tremendous amount of longing in their life, but they are getting through it as best they know how. They ask how you have been, and you stammer, "I-I've been OK, I guess". They tell a bad joke and you laugh and you are instantly somewhere else, a high school hallway, a crowded balcony, a tucked-away park, sitting on swings, passing a joint. The memories flood into your mind and the stories come fast and easy. And as you have been a walking casualty of life's plodding pace for what seems like months, you are instantly delivered, in one unexpected moment, into the light. While nothing about this conversation is particularly profound, you're once again aware that what you are and who you touch in your life truly matters. You hang up the phone and smile a wide, toothy grin to yourself. You turn on your computer and punch out a silly blog...