Going Away Picnic, this is it!

Today was the day to say goodbye and make it official. We met in the park at Griffith Park, not far from the merry-go-round. It was wonderful seeing people, saying goodbye, and sharing well wishes.

We ate amazing food, drank great drinks, played with the hulu-hoops and frolicked in the sun. We climbed trees, took pictures, laughed and hugged a lot. We told stories, we shared memories and we were in the moment and it felt like such an honor to have our friends show up for us, like this.

Many of our friends came out that had children, Miro’s friends, so they too could play together before we were on our way. It was so strange, loved the whole day, but on many occasions, it felt like I was watching a movie of my life. It felt like we had already left.

Our home was gone, my business was closed, our things were gone, we had been to Mexico and Belize for six weeks and we had been to Burning Man. We had already gone through the task of separating ourselves from our prior life, taken some pretty big symbolic steps .

And this was all that was left.

Many of my dear friends did show up for us. Many of my close friends, that I love dearly, and were so happy, they were there, for us. I felt the kindness of their presence, the comfort of their support and their excitement for us.

Many of my friends and / or acquaintances DID NOT show up, without a goodbye wish or farewell

….but I suppose that is very LA.

There were those I spent much time with either personally or professionally through work, tech community or socially through art or activism that didn’t show up. Most of them did not reply to the invite or send a regret after.

This did not effect the amazing time we had with our friends that were were there, but it just makes me wonder….makes me think…..makes me question….

…how do I see all of this?

It makes me wonder what the balance of friendship actually requires, if any. I never really thought of it before.

I lived in a community of people, I was close to for over fifteen years, sharing many life experiences, sharing many memories. But are they really friends?

I worked with other people, shared business dealings, earned money, produced projects with and created amazing creative “solutions” we were very proud of. But are they really friends?

I shared personal moments, laughs and tears, with others, provided support when I was needed, and went out on a limb for them when they asked, but are they really friends if they didn’t show up for me?

I don’t know, really and never thought of friendship before being measured by what they did or didn’t do. But as I leave this life, the life of everything based on what I know, I wonder if I actually know anything at all. Is it all an illusion?

No, I really felt the love and support over and over by the wonderful friends that came see Miro and I off on our adventure. For that, I am grateful.