Just Play

I believe we each have a gift like this. A skill that seems mundane or obvious to us, but in fact it is not at all.

Charlevoix, MI - 2022

In one of my favorite movies - Good Will Hunting - the main character is a wildly talented mathematician. And he is seemingly unaware of the potential of it all. So he tries to explain it.

“I mean, I look at a piano, I see a bunch of keys, three pedals, and a box of wood. But Beethoven, Mozart, they saw it, they could just play. I couldn't paint you a picture, I probably can't hit the ball out of Fenway, and I can't play the piano. But when it came to stuff like this…. I could always just play.” - Good Will Hunting

I believe we each have a gift like this. A skill that seems mundane or obvious to us, but in fact it is not at all.

For me, it’s my capacity to connect with people. And to make them feel calm and grounded. Year over year I rediscover it. As I move through many cities, places, and lives. Travel. Change jobs. Start businesses. Close or leave them. I often find myself with a new collaborator or client and just like that - there’s a new opportunity emerging.

It’s unpredictable….

People often disappear for seasons or times. Sometimes I have a hard time accepting the ebb and flow of it. Often, if I’m honest. I am never sure when the next connection will happen, or when a dear friend or collaborator will reappear. I am still learning the uncontrollable nature of my gift. The magic of the alignment that happens when my open heart is met with openness and there is deep connection.

One of my dear friends shared with the group at my birthday dinner a few weeks ago. She said “I am friends with Liz because she waits. Sometimes I am a shit friend. And she just waits and waits for me to return. She knows.”

And she’s right. I may have struggled with math, flunked out of statistics in college. I may be a bit dyslexic and my spelling is horrid. But when it comes to connecting, I could always just play.