Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it!

We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness.'

Beverly Clark (played by Susan Sarandon) in Shall we Dance

In the movie, Susan Sarandon said the above, in response to the question, "Why do you think people get married?"

Tonight, a friend and I watched this fabulous movie and this particular quote caught my attention (along with the many scenes of Richard Gere dancing). :) More than just a chick flick, it was a great movie about doing what you love, passion, dancing and ultimately, the movie was about love, marriage and importance of communication.

In the movie, at one point, Richard Gere goes to his wife, Susan Sarandon, and tells her that he never could tell her in the past, when or if he was unhappy, because he never wanted to hurt the person he treasured most. So, if he was missing something in his life (like dancing) or if he was upset, he never told her. He just kept it inside b/c he didn't want to hurt her.

Probably there's a fine line somewhere, between not sharing enough and sharing too much truth. Sharing too much truth could needlessly hurt someone's feeling while not sharing enough leaves them confused and unsure.

In my life, I think sometimes, I tell the truth too much, when probably, I don't need to do so. I know recently, I told a friend in Kelowna, what I really thought of her business concept and why it didn't fit right for me, from my perspective. We're all entitled to have our own feelings on things and she asked for my opinion...but probably, I just shouldn't have said anything, b/c in telling her the truth, I have now hurt her feelings. I can't take back what I said and it is the truth, but probably, I really should have just said nothing.

I'm not sure.

What I am sure about though, that just like in marriage, friendships and all relationships exist and it's those friendships that signify and say, "Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness."

As friends, family, and even dance partners, we're like a mirror for each other, saying "I see you! I notice you! I'm watching. I'm with you!"

And speaking of dancing...my 3 nights of dancing starts tonight and I'm so excited I can hardly wait already!

Mom, I love you!
Thank you for always noticing me. For always being a witness in my life and for sharing just the right amount of truth with me, always.
Crystal