The Beauty of Showing Up

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Sometimes you witness something so simple that it stays with you long after it is over. That happened to me over the weekend. I went for a painting session, one of the little extracurricular things I have been doing to keep life interesting and to give myself something to look forward to. There were three ladies there who had clearly come together as friends.

What happened over the next three hours was unexpectedly beautiful. They painted. Then they took a break and did a TikTok dance, complete with the kind of laughter that makes you forget anyone else is in the room. After that, they sat down and played Ludo. Somehow, they managed to fit all of this into one afternoon.

But what really caught my attention was the effort behind it. Two of them lived quite far from where we were. Yet they had made the effort to come because they wanted to spend time with their friends. One of them even kept saying that she needed to travel quite a distance, but she would leave a little later because she wanted to enjoy a little more time with them.

There was no heavy conversation about life. No discussion about problems, careers, relationships or responsibilities. They were simply laughing, teasing each other, dancing, playing Ludo and enjoying being together.

And I thought, this is what friendship can look like. We often think showing up for people has to involve solving something, attending an important event or being there when life gets difficult. But sometimes showing up is simply saying, "I want to spend a few hours with you," and then actually making the effort to do it.

Watching them reminded me that friendship needs intentionality too. Not just calls when something happens. Not just checking in when someone is struggling. Sometimes, it is making the journey, clearing the afternoon and creating a little pocket of joy together.

I went home that day with a very happy heart. Not because anything extraordinary had happened, but because I had witnessed something extraordinary in its simplicity: people choosing to enjoy each other.

Maybe we need more of that. Less fixing. Less explaining. More showing up. More laughing.

Comments

  1. Linda's Relaxing LairAugust 10, 2026 at 1:46 AM

    Very inspiring post. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada ❤️ 😊 🇨🇦

    ReplyDelete

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