I look up from my lunchtime gyro. There is a sock on the ledge. Just one — a tiny infant sock — all lost and lonely-like in the Food Court at the Mall. It reminds me of a poor abandoned pet who sits patiently where he was dropped off, hopeful eyes following every person who wanders by.

Of course, socks don’t have eyes, or so far as I know, but I imagine this one is missing that tiny foot of its own, and feels bereft, perhaps, and maybe unfulfilled. It cannot do its job, to keep those wee toes warm, and protected, and comfortable. No doubt that tiny foot is missing its sock as well.

Sure, it’s an odd thing to consider, this still life (with sock). Maybe it’s because I’ve been mentoring three women currently pursuing certification to become divorce coaches. Maybe it’s because I’ve also been  kicking around in my brain how to best put my own certification to use as I begin the two-year process of easing my way out of my first career and into something new and different. Then again, maybe it’s because I’m listening for what calls to me, the purpose that’s still forming in my mind.

I’d rather keep relationships together than to help them break apart. But through my stint as a mentor coach (my third iteration), I’ve come to realize that there are times when things stay together, and there are times when they divide. Tucked in around that burgeoning awareness is the thought that there’s something about forging new relationships that is just as rewarding as helping relationships heal and cleave together.

So I’m grateful for that insight, thanks to that tiny sock, because it offers a great perspective switch that has refocused my understanding of relationship and community.

I believe relationship happens wherever we are in life, wherever we go, and whenever we choose to invite it in. My role as coach is to help others travel that road, whether they’re wearing shoes or whether they have one sock on and one lost along the way. Like that tiny sock, I can offer warmth and support for the journey. And, you know what? That’s relationship at its best.