A beautiful post by @enchantedlion @enchantedlion ・・・ “Hello Reader, ️ Though we’ve never met, we already have a lot in common. We’re both human beings, which may seem obvious—but our shared humanity is hard for most people to keep in mind. Because you read, and because you are reading this right now, you know more about me than almost anyone else I’ve come across today… In Manhattan, you are alone even when you’re surrounded. I am sure you know what I mean. . Did anyone I met today take the time to see me? …If they’re readers like you and me, than they’re used to searching for connections with strangers. They’re easy to find when you make a practice of opening a good book and opening your mind to another person. We readers do that. We welcome the thoughts and feelings of someone else right into our brains, and we find ourselves in what resonates. We see that everyone is part of the human condition, even and especially us. . Reading is for the brave among us. It teaches us how to love people we don’t know and will probably never meet. It teaches us that we too deserve that same sort of love. That faith is, in fact, the work of being a fully realized person. So thanks for reading and please don’t ever stop.” Open-hearted words by Thomas Page McBee ( @thomaspagemcbee ) for A Velocity of Being: Letters to Young Readers. Sensitive, lovely illustration by Mandana Sadat . . Starting this week with a wide open heart to embrace not only attitudes of tolerance, but chances at deeper connection with the people around us- our community. Here’s to searching for bits of ourselves in others, to keeping an openness to the gifts that outrospection can bring, and to the ways that empathy can be used to heal and to restore.? Felt moved by a stranger on the street or in a store lately? Tell us about them below. ❣️ . . A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader. Edited by Maria Popova ( @brainpicker ) and Claudia Bedrick. ️