Ladies Luncheon

I'm not really a ladies luncheon kind of girl.
I'm not really a lady.
But for some reason I was drawn to this particular event and decided to make an appearance. I'm extremely glad that I did. Although I can't say that I behaved any better than I normally do in those situations, because I didn't. I took the center pieces and started putting them on...they were broaches, watches and necklaces. Why would they put them on the table if they never intended for someone to put them on? Also, I took more food than is really polite. I was surrounded by women who were gracing their plates with bite sized morsels, while I in turn was piling stuff onto mine. I forgot that I was with a bunch quality people who all have children and always eat last. I, on the other hand, eat alone and eat as much as I want.
Anyway, it was really nice to be able to connect with people that I don't normally get to talk to, and to be in such a relaxed environment. There's something to be said for an all-woman gathering...I don't know what it is...perhaps all the estrogen, but there seems to be a heightened sensitivity. I just can't explain it. And another thing that I really enjoyed was the average age of the people there...it must have been somewhere in the mid 40s. I like that. These women have all gone through life, have raised their children, and have experienced things that I can't possibly imagine. They were talking about being pregnant, and what a miracle it is to have life inside of you. It's cool to be female just for that (except at the end of the term when that thing has to come out of you!). They talked about time and making the most of it...enjoying every breath that we take, enjoying every sunrise and sunset, really truly enjoying life as it is everyday. When you think about it, we don't have an incredibly long time here...so, the best that we can do is live well, love deeply, and experience all range of emotion. The joy, the elation, the pain, and the hurt. If we don't experience it all, are we really living? Why is it that we try so desperately keep ourselves from pain? When we do that, we keep ourselves from experiencing true happiness. You can't have one without the other.
I have been feeling recently like I have been undergoing surgery...it's been tough. Things that never should have been there are being removed, and that is never fun, but at the end of the day I'll be more alive for having gone through it. It's easy to become blind to yourself sometimes...not wanting to see the things that really make up who you are.
Someone read something to me the other day that really spoke to me. Something to increase the quality of life, really...I'll write parts of it:

Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on to dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.
Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone.

It seems to me to love to the point of hurt, to be affectionate with one another, to be open and transparent with those around us is really, though difficult, a great way to live. I love touch. I think it's healthy. How many people actually go weeks without ever being hugged or touched by another human? We aren't meant to live like that.
One of the ladies at the luncheon said, "So, are we human doings, or human beings?". I hope I am the latter. If we are beings, then all that stuff will be coming out of us...just because we aren't doing doesn't mean that we are bored or lazy. If we be then we'll have a whole lot more time to truly love.
This is stuff that I really want to live... and want to be...perhaps in time I will.