petal six
I often arrange Kokedama workshops for corporate wellness programs, and toward the end of the year, I was hired by a company I hadn’t worked with before. Arriving at the Freedom Tower, I was taken to one of the upper floors—way up, with an incredible bird’s-eye view of New York City. The workshop space was set up right by the windows so participants could shape their kokedama while overlooking the vast evening cityscape below, which added a quiet, magical touch to the experience.
As I was gathering my materials at the end of the session, a man approached me with a smile. “Do you remember me?” he asked. His face looked familiar, and though I couldn’t place him immediately, it suddenly clicked. I remembered him and his girlfriend from a Sunday afternoon about a year ago when they dropped by my store. We had chatted, his girlfriend owned a small gift shop near K-town—and shared a moment of easy conversation.
What moved me most was what came next. he handed me a box of sweets as a gift—something I never expected. He shared that he’d been following my work on social media and had personally requested his company host my workshop. I was stunned and deeply touched. Before leaving, he even offered the use of their office space if I ever needed a venue for future workshops, and we exchanged numbers.
Stepping out of the building into the cool city air, I could feel my emotions swelling. The thoughtfulness he showed went far beyond the gift or the offer of space, it was the quiet realization that people remember you. That even the briefest, simplest connection from the past can ripple forward in ways you never anticipate.
Life is full of the unexpected, but there is so much beauty in it. Looking forward to whatever comes next whether it’s reaching for what we hope to do, or simply accepting what the journey brings. To be present, and embrace just being.