I’m really glad our paths crossed

The last couple of weeks have been exciting and tough for me. On the exciting side, the company I work for,Cliqset, launched our private beta, I truly believe we are redefining online community, and as I wrote about last week, I had the opportunity to meet Chris Brogan and have a real conversation with him, .  And on the tough side…I lost someone I dearly loved.

Almost a week and a half ago, I got the call no one wants to get….when I answered the phone I could tell my friend on the opposite end was troubled. Her voice was trembling as she asked: “Do you know why I’m calling?” I immediately became concerned. She proceeded to tell me that someone I’ve loved dearly for many many years had taken his life. Those words were really tough to hear.  I didn’t just lose John, he chose to go.

This last week I’ve spent lots of time reflecting and analyzing every interaction with him over the last several months. I’ve asked myself what could I have done to change things? Was I a good enough friend? Why didn’t he call me? What lessons can I learn from this?

The truth of the matter is I probably could not have changed things. And that’s tough, because I would have done whatever it took, to keep him here. I’m comforted in knowing that John was keenly aware of how much I loved him…we had discussed that just recently. I know that the last time I saw him he enjoyed it immensely, because he told me…as well as sharing that with some of his friends and they’ve been kind enough to share that with me.

Just tonight, I’ve been thinking about the life lessons and reminders that come from these types of events. And here’s what I’ve come up with:

1) Life’s short and you are the the author of your story, what kind of story are you writing?

2) Are you being authentic and transparent with the people in your community? It’s important that you allow yourself to be known and as Pam Slim so eloquently put it….it’s important that you find your people.

3) How’s your work/life balance are you making time for the people that mean the most to you?

There’s so many more lessons these are just my top three tonight.  Wait one more thing….although I find myself missing John something awful these days, I still treasure the days we had. I’m still grateful for every moment we had.