London

The tingling goose bumps that rise on my skin as I think about how mystical, how serendipitous, my life is at times. I sit in reflection of a week spent in London, a place I never dreamed of loving, but yet finding it hard to leave. The people who have shown unconditional kindness, dedicating time, and the sharing of their stories has touched my heart in profound ways, ways I believe won’t allow me to live the same once I return to New York.

Monday evening I phoned a good friend back in the U.S. asking the same question that comes every time I take risks within my life. “What purpose do I subject myself to such vulnerability, why do I choose the more difficult road when the easiest of paths is looking me in the face?” She always gives the same answer, “your life is beautifully lived, spontaneously, with purpose and meaning that not even you yourself understand. We all expect great things from you Mr. Pokorski, and you often deliver in unexpected ways that are beyond expectation. Not without fault, but always with resilience, power, deep love, empathy, and greater ability to understand humanity. Your life has purpose, and every decision you make seems to fit into a larger story than yourself. So live your life, share your stories, love ever deeper, and do it for us, as you do what we, those who deeply love you, can not.”

How is it that a spontaneous mistake of malfunctioning technology over a year ago (leading to the meeting of someone in the UK, while in Chicago) would have extreme effects on this trip? Hours after landing, I found myself amongst a group of New Yorkers’ Brits’ and others, having an incredible night out. Meeting American friends as they flew in, sharing stories of times passed and present. The celebration of a new friend’s birthday, the spectrum of new and old friends ever present within her party. The afternoon spent with a new friend who graciously walked me all around London, sharing her life stories and opinions. Meeting the man who never should have existed within my life, leading to a great dinner, political discussion, and an incredible tour of London while it rained, finishing up at British pub.

Learning from each individual as they came and went within my trip, each with their own personality and life experience. I listened carefully, attempted to learn as much as possible, seeking to put the puzzle of interconnected life together, seeing the beauty within humanity as we all move, feel, and breathe.

There is meaning in everything, a purpose unseen. My daily fight against anxiousness and fear is ever waging, but my soul wants to be brave, to share my story with courage, to take risks and live boldly. I have accepted that I will never live an easy life, but that I stand to gain much more from the one I’ve been given.

The Sun is Rising