The first 15 Minute Conversation. That wasn’t a conversation at all.
So here we are. On the eve of October 1, and the formal start of my second year-long project: 15 Minute Conversations.
Completing the 365 Music Project was undoubtedly one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. But, in finishing the 365MP, I was ready to move in a new direction. And as luck would have it, just two days after wrapping up the 365 Music Project—and me looking forward to a glorious month-long blog vacation—I unexpectedly encountered my first 15 Minute Conversation. Which really wasn’t a conversation at all.
On a flight from Minneapolis to New York, I found myself sitting next to local musician Brother Ali. And although I’ll admit I quietly high-fived myself and rocked out to some Brother Ali on this flight—cause awesome, right?—this is not the conversation of signficance.
No, although Brother Ali was to my right, what intrigued me more was the mother to my left with one-year-old in tow.
Now I know you’re thinking I suffered through a crying child during the whole flight. But, you’d be wrong. Although this mother did appologize profusely during the flight, it was instead for the sleeping infant on my left arm.
And it was okay. Because for the next three hours, we were just two women doing what we could do to make sure this child had an enjoyable flight. Outside of her appologies, this mother and I never exchanged words. We didn’t have to. There was a common understanding of the human condition and good old-fashioned, built-in maternal instinct at play.
It was a beautiful way to transition into 15 Minute Conversations.
And so here we are, on the eve of another project that will hopefully lead me somewhere. Who will I meet? What will I learn? How will I be personally challenged? And where will I find myself exactly one year from tonight on the eve of its end.
All questions I hope to discover the answer to over the course of the next year, 15 minutes at a time. What a journey we will have….
