an open letter to the manatee

To my long lost friend,

I was going over my previous blog posts just now (hey, if I don't read them, who will?) and I read a comment to one of my previous posts from someone who called himself "Dugong". Is this "Dugong" you? You know who you are. You're someone who used to be very close to me. But because of some, er, delicate circumstance (on your part, not mine), we've lost touched. I'm so sorry if that old blog post irked you, it was stupid of me not to have closed that comment window (I'm new at blogging so forgive me).

I hope all is well with you. If you read this, don't you think that you're doing this friendship of ours a disservice by not keeping in touch? Do you realize that we've known each other for 20 years? Yep, I counted, we met in 1987 right?And we've been friends ever since you wrote me that first letter. It's 2008 now, so I think it's time for the 20 years of friendship to thrive and continue -- what do you say to another 20 years?

Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi had this to say: "It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards, even unto our names." And you have changed me, have influenced and inspired me. I've always thought of you as my soul mate and I think that once upon a time I've told you that a soul mate is a person's greatest passion, one that he might not necessarily end up with but who will always become a part of his life.

Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, pray, love) I think explained the idea of "soul mates" better. She said: "People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave. A soul mate's purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master..." -- a mouthful, I know, coming from someone who traveled all the way to Italy, India, and Indonesia just to find herself.

Let me know what you think my dear friend.

And by the way, I really do miss you.