and believe that small efforts sometimes create big impacts. A drop of water has little weight and cannot exert mighty power, but when it falls into a pond, it can create a ripple that expands further and further…  So, too, in life, thoughtful acts generate a reaction we sometimes underestimate. In my blog, I’d like to converse about ways to connect with one another in deeper ways.

I’ll share one idea to get us started. I belong to a book club of six wonderful and diverse women called the Barley Noodle Book Club, named after the signature dish of the Chinese Restaurant where we meet. We talk about the book selection but we also go very deep into issues that arise from our discussions. At the end of our meeting, we don’t simply close our books and say goodbye. We have a little ritual where one person turns to the person on her right and then presses one of her hands to the hand of the person in a prayer position. The first person makes a comment or a wish for the second person. We go around the circle with the second person then pressing her hand to the third person and sending a blessing her way. Around the circle we go. So often I am touched by the intuitive brilliance someone speaks; sometimes it’s just the love that shines through; sometimes it’s a prayer. We all go home richer.