The Tapestry of Life: 40 Encounters Through Thread and Light

The colors, the texture, the weaving, and the knots. This is how it all started: one coincidental chance meeting. There are forty stories that make this tapestry; there are dozens and perhaps hundreds of others that have come and gone and those yet not revealed.

Here I share with you some of the beautiful moments of life that have revealed themselves to me as chance encounters but in each there has been a vivid revelation and realization, from the white cane that showed me the way of life to the cat in the bag who has helped me see. It is through the threading each of these stories together that I sit here now.

In each moment as life reveals itself, we are able to see or to let the moment pass by. Join me in seeing how moments realized have so much to tell and so much to give.

Each of these stories are one hundred percent real and true. I have changed the names of the people, but the characters, the thoughts, and the gifts that were given

to me through the chance encounter all remain real and true.

Please help me weave the next part of this tapestry by sitting with me for a while, reading these stories, listening to them, and sharing them. Simple and real... Perhaps but just perhaps you will start to see how in your own life a chance encounter has changed your life, and perhaps you will take a moment to say hello to someone you may not have otherwise, on a bus, on the sidewalk, on a plane or just passing by.

Thank you for passing by. Touch this tapestry full of color, full of texture, full of revelations revealed just through a simple hello, a simple smile.

Dr. Bahareh Amidi is a poetry therapist who believes words and voice can be instrumental in the healing process. She holds a master's degree in Family, Marriage and Child Counseling Psychology from College of Notre Dame, and a Ph.D. from Catholic University in Educational Psychology. She completed her Certification in Poetry Therapy at the California based Institute for Poetic Medicine. She has worked both in the USA and the Middle East. In Abu Dhabi she worked with youth, ladies in shelters, victims of human trafficking and men in labor camps. In Tehran she focused predominantly on cancer patients in children's hospitals. Dr. Amidi has also worked in Silicon Valley with top venture capitalists and numerous corporations. The common factor is always a piece of paper, a pen and a way into the heart. The results are often a drop of tear, a flash of insight, a smile and a self- sustained journey on the path of healing. Currently she lives in Washington, D.C. and is bringing poetry therapy to Sibley Hospital; as part of Johns Hopkins Integrative Health Department. During weekly writing sessions doors are open to doctors, nurses, administrative personal, and patients, and caregivers. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Amidi has been leading online poetry therapy sessions through a variety of online platforms.