Some years ago my friend gave me something called a Magnetic Poetry Kit. It is a small plastic case filled with tiny magnetic strips, and a word is printed on each strip. I think it was a Christmas present but I’m not sure. I confess that I wasn’t too keen on it at that time. In fact, I didn’t really care for this “friend” either, so I put the gift on a shelf and totally forgot about it.

Fast forward a few years, and I was mourning a departure of a beloved colleague one day. When I looked up, I saw the Magnetic Poetry Kit collecting dust on the exact same spot. I picked it up to open the case. There I found three words, “always” “a” and “friend.” I stared at those words for a while and then slowly picked them up. I attached them on my refrigerator and thought about my loss. “She will always be your friend,” the words seemed to say.

I also thought about my “friend” who had given me the Magnetic Poetry Kit. Suddenly I was filled with a keen sense of appreciation for him and a guilt that I had never tried to understand him before.

Eventually I wrote him a letter of appreciation and apology as a step toward becoming his friend.

A few more years have passed since then. The other day I looked for those magnetic strips on the refrigerator. They weren’t there anymore. I checked the case but neither ”always” nor “friend” was there, even though there were still multiple strips of “a.” I guess they must have come off and got under the refrigerator.

Oh, well.

There are still hundreds of magnetic strips that I could use to make a poem or two. And my former colleague and the person who gave me the Magnetic Poetry Kit will always remain my friends.

It takes me a long time to see the goodness in some people. I am sure I have missed many opportunities to connect with others because of this tendency.

May I become more open to the beauties and gifts around me so we may enrich each other and widen the circle of love.