to live & love: a very special post for a very special person

I'm going to introduce the most special person to me today. This is Lizzy and i received a message from her this morning that made me cry a little (yes, in the office).

I first met Lizzy in the winter of 2008 while i was on a holiday in Perth, Australia. For the first time, my brother & i were going on a vacation independently so it was what we considered a 'big trip'. I won't lie to you, being two really young asians, we were really intimidated by Australia. But Australia, however it was intimidating at that time, showed us to a friendship with its most wonderful citizen.

Liz was backpacking around Australia at that time & had already been staying at the backpackers we checked into for a couple of months. Knowing we were really shy & possibly a little a scared, she made us feel really warm & at home. We were also introduced to Dean & Scott from Ireland who were so wonderfully nice too.

We hung out all night sharing stories about our homeland, their travels, travel tips within Perth & everything. Simply, we were no longer freaking out because we now had these amazing new friends who'd look out for us, who showed us some places, gave us their sleeping bags because it was way too cold at night, woke us up for breakfast & even cooked us dinner before we left home.
The friendship didn't finish from the time we boarded the flight home. In fact, many times in the last year or so, Lizzie would send me messages to see how i was doing & even offered me her shoulder to cry on when i was going through a very difficult episode in my life. Note that she lives miles away from me & constantly travels.

Tell me now, is this person not an angel to you?

It's these little acts of kindness that will live in us forever. She's a true inspiration. I've learnt that you'll never know the impact of your good deed, no matter how little or large, on someone.

So this was what i received from sweet Lizzy this morning,

"hey maria, i have a day off so i thought i'd spend it in the library and fall into my own little world for a while....for some reason i had an impulse to click on your blogspot while i'm on facebook quickly, because you'd posted something for your lovely brother's birthday.

i feel like we are so alike it's not funny, and i suppose we never really had the oppurtunity to get to know each other well enough to realize that - we did only briefly meet each other for 2 or 3 days. i always thought your were lovely and i have met many many people on my travels who are beautiful people, but the way you talk about your love affair with life, with friends, family, art, books, activism - this constant flowing raw energy for a more fulfilled and happier you - i hold it so close to me, recognise it, understand it and i think it's a very special gift when you happen to stumble upon someone else who shares such fundamental values.

i wish that we were better friends. you seem to have so much light spilling out of you. your gift must be that you radiate this light upon other people.

that's all i had to say, i hope you have a beautiful day darling. you have made my day! xo"

It's so heartwarming, i couldn't help but cry. I don't think Liz understands how special she is or how thankful i am to have met her.

Well, I did mention that i have never wished for massive readership or 10000 blog hits a day but i've always meant for this space to be where i would meet like-minded people like you & lizzy, who are similarly passionate about love & life.

I hope someday, we can all come together, maybe even through this blog, to build friendships, share thoughts, & create waves of magical, positive, infectious energy for each other. I pray many seasons of good karma for Lizzy, for you & for everyone.

It's fantastic to be alive & in love.