Mixture

Mixing compatible elements can create something amazing and quite extraordinary.

Mixture

As I sat, comfortably talking with my friend James Alders, it wasn’t long until it was almost as if his voice had become my own internal voice.  You see, our experience of how we came to live in our town was eerily similar.  We had been casually looking for a new place to live, over an extended period, and nothing had felt right, until we came to the streets on which we currently reside.  Both of us simply felt drawn here.  We know that this is our place in the world, and we’re still discovering why, many years later.

Finding one’s place is in the world is important to the quality of life.  It’s like finding the right pair of shoes. Fit is imperative!  And, really, it is, for many of us, more important than the style of the shoe itself.  Fit is always a personal thing, and as I was listening to James he caused me to think of another aspect of fit.

It’s fair to say that mixture is more than just a matter of taste.  Mixing incompatible elements can be a disaster and mixing compatible elements can create something amazing and quite extraordinary.

I have a great hot fudge recipe.  Its taste is simply heavenly.  I love it so much that one day I decided to make a batch and share it with my kids.  So, I was happily mixing, stirring and heating away as I described this delightful confection to wide-eyed children.  I couldn’t wait to share it with them.

I spoke to them as I cooked, so as to build the anticipation of wonder and delight.  When it was finished I dipped a spoon into the pot and invited my daughter Kilee over for the tantalizing treat.  I carefully, not to waste a precious drop, reached out to her with the hot-fudge-coated spoon.  My eyes were aglow.

“What do you think?”  I said with the expectancy of one hoping to achieve the status of hero.

“It’s not good!” she said with a grimace consuming her face.

“What!?” I replied back, thinking she was joking.  “Really?”

“Yes.”  She said.  “I don’t think you made it right.”

I was indignant!  And, my taste buds had been drooling for this mixture for many minutes as I cooked, so I prepared to take a taste myself.  The spoon was in hand.  The heavenly combination was coating the entire eating surface.  It went in my mouth!

There was laughter all around as my eyes bulged and my face frowned.  I had added salt to the mix, rather than sugar!  It was awful.  Mixture is everything!

As we sat, comfortably, James and I were sharing the tale of how we came to be mixed-in together in the same town.  It wasn’t long until it was almost as if his voice had become my own internal voice.  You see, our experience of how we came to live in our town was eerily similar.  We had been casually looking for a new place to live over an extended period and nothing had felt right, until we came the streets on which we currently reside.  Both of us had simply felt drawn here and we know that this is our place in the world.

“Mixture is everything!”  I thought to myself as James spoke and he transformed into a new, critical element of place right before my eyes. I saw him in a new light, through different eyes.  We had so much more in common than I ever would have guessed!  Mixing compatible elements can create something amazing and quite extraordinary.  Our town is the perfect example of this!