Sometimes I Wonder

Do you think that a person's bookmark says something about them? About their lives, about who they are and what they believe?

What do they have lying around, available to pick up and stick between pages at a moment's notice?

Yesterday I picked up a piece of lined paper, sloppily folded it somewhere around in half, and closed my book around it. And I wondered, what would that say about me to someone else?

I was in my room, on my bed. The paper was out because I had been writing letter after letter in attempt to get caught up. The paper is still out--and I am nowhere near caught up on my letter writing. Does that paper say that I love and value others as I write them? Or does it say that I don't love and value them enough, because I have pushed them aside for a time?

There are two questions that I always ask in a get-to-know-you situation. I will always come out knowing the color of that person's toothbrush, and his or her favorite ancient civilization. I have done this for years and years, and I will likely continue to for quite some time. Just another Dani quirk, now you know.

You know, the answers to those questions don't really tell me a thing about the person. But sometimes I think the way the answer is delivered might. And, though I don't consciously form my opinion on a person based on something so irrelevant as the color of my toothbrush, isn't that something we all do?

We make a lot of decisions about people. We form a lot of opinions, and probably cast more judgement than we are in the position to acceptably do. But we love, and we support, and try to lift each other up. We encourage and inspire. We connect. And how this all ties together, I have no idea. I don't know where we decide to stop deciding how we feel and just go with what our heart says. Some things are just beyond my understanding.

Still, sometimes I wonder.