If it were only possible to reign in the inspiration on any particularly wonderful day and redistribute it along equally among the other days of the week or month, I would do exactly that; I would bottle inspiration and give it away free as a public service to the people who need it most.

When the anorexic woman came around that corner, jogging and crazed a few days ago, I wanted to have the power to pass peace to her. I wished that with the touch of my hands I could calm her; make her understand that she could stop running, and that she would be alright. It's not the first time in my life that I've longed for the gift of bringing peace to someone who was hurting.

Yesterday was a day of inspiration and relaxation. I loved yesterday. I loved looking out onto Harlem, unhurried conversation, and an unending supply of black tea with milk and sugar. Hot tea, quiet, and good conversation are three of my life's sweetest pleasures, and yesterday had plenty of each. Today I felt like I was in on a little secret...Like I'd figured something out that so many New Yorkers never do; how to capture cups of tea, good conversations, and moments of quiet reflection in one of the world's fastest-paced cities.

I've longed for the ability to bring people's guards down; to lower their defenses and to get to know them as individuals beyond their 30-second elevator speeches and easy answers that are customarily given to new acquaintances.

Tonight I met lots of new people at our organization's volunteer dinner, several of whom opened up to me really deeply in a very short period of time. After talking for just fifteen or twenty minutes, I learned the story of her silver ring; of his four years in the Marines...Of his fascination with Native American cultures; of her friend's dying with cancer; and of their mutual love for the American Southwest.

In ten minutes or less, I learned that the woman on the other side of me at the table was laid off earlier this year form Bear Stearns, and that she didn't even realize she was depressed until she started volunteering at our organization a few times a week and remembered what it was like to want to wake up in the mornings. She seems surprised at herself for opening up to me about all of this. The couple expressed to me how surprised they were at themselves for sharing so much with me about their lives in such a short period of time.

I've been praying to learn to ease the defenses of the people I meet in order to truly get to know them as individuals and not as a career title or a company association or by their appearances alone. Tonight I had the power of a calming touch; the ease with others that they opened up and really talked with me about their life's experiences.

A small glimpse into the life of another perfectly imperfect, individually fascinating human being is humbling. If I could bottle up the inspiration I felt after watching my new friends' defenses fall at dinner tonight, I'd give it away free.

Since it's not possible literally to bottle inspiration in the sense that we bottle up our pickles or olives, I suppose the best I can ask is that my words will capture something that can be passed on and that will serve as a hand of peace on the shoulder of someone who needs it most.