Something Lovely: Missed Connections.

This afternoon I sat in the garden. A rare enough occupation in my busy week, but it was such a glorious, sunny day that I couldn't help but collapse into a deck chair for a short while and watch my two  tow-headed charges romp around in the sunshine.
I was listening to something that was so heart-stretchingly beautiful that I had to write a whole separate post about it here. And the combination of warm sunlight and such heavenly music was so heady that I found my mind drifting, dreaming, thinking about these wonderful illustrations by Sophie Blackall that were brought to my attention this morning by dear Nancy from the b in subtle. And I decided that it was time to reinstate my regular 'Something Lovely' post which had sadly lapsed somewhat.

Find these potential sweethearts here.

Sophie finds these lovely people on Missed Connection websites and turns her marvelous hand to capturing them on paper. You can see lots more over on her blog Missed Connections. 

What is it about these stories that I find so arresting? And often, in their short few lines, so moving? We all have these stories in our lives, and I often think about how chance has put us where we are, with the people we have in our lives. Chance.

Think about it. 

Find this perfect profile here.

To think, Jay, we would not be here together if...you hadn't gone to my friend's party. Or even before that, if your father hadn't taken a chance on a girl who might have let him down, and put her in the very place that you were. Does he know the part he played?

And what of all those dear connections we have made with those incredible, special people we know and love? The combination of our decisions and theirs bringing us to that magical point where we connect.

I could list so many friends, and wonder and shake my head in amazement. Right down to all you wonderful blogger friends. What are the chances any of us would have met 'in real life'?

Find this mysterious chap here.

And to what extent is it fate? Do we have any control over any of it? It is so heartening to think about all these millions of human connections being made, and missed, every day. 

So there is hope and love out there. And there is people like Sophie who breathe life into these little stories, and today as I sat in the sun I wasn't marveling at the beautiful view, or the gorgeous sunshine, but I was marveling at the human spirit, and the spiderweb of possibilities that we have all around and about us.

And the strength of the human heart. Because I do believe we hear one another's, beating through the daily traffic and toil, and I do believe if we remember to pause and listen to one another we just might be amazed.

And we just might fall in love.