As we craft soul-prospering lives for ourselves, we can go through challenging times, especially if we’re making seemingly drastic shifts and big changes. It can be very frightening to be out of our comfort zone. We can feel very alone and isolated.
Friends and loved ones to the rescue!
They hold our hand when we need it. They encourage us when we need a boost. They pick us up and dust us off when we fall. They cheer for us and celebrate us even when there seems to be no finish line in sight.
They like us and love us just the way we are.
Each one of our friends and loved ones adds a little something unique and special to our lives that without it, our lives would be so very different and diminished.
We’re half way through the work week and it may have been a brutal one so far. Or up to now, the work week might be mind-numbingly, soul-crushingly boring! Whatever the case, we may need something to lift our spirits so we can power through the rest of the week. Here are two short articles that prove kindess matters. Even the smallest gestures that we don’t even think twice about can make all the difference to someone else.
I hope these lifted your spirits. These give us hope because they show that most people have generous hearts and that they want to be helpful and do good.
Yesterday would have been the 92nd birthday of a person who has touched my life profoundly. Even though he is no longer with us, his wisdom and the way he lived his life is still teaching me today.
I am grateful that he lived and that I was privileged to know him. I am thankful for the guidance and inspiration I continue to draw from him.
Today, please join me in celebrating the people who are an inspiration to us, whether they are still here or have passed on. It isn’t about whether or not they were perfect but how they and their lives provide loving guidance to us.
We can never be too big or too much in our celebrations and appreciation of the people who are very special to us. They are our rock in tumultuous times, they cheer us on when the going gets tough for us, and they’re compassionate and loving when we’re down and discouraged.
Today, let’s celebrate them as if it’s their birthday. And, for those who have a birthday today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May today be your best birthday yet, and be the perfect start to a year that’s your best one yet!
Is there a time of year or a season that reminds you of a loved one? Of course Christmas and other big celebrations remind us of our loving family and friends, however, is there another time that triggers warm thoughts of the people–or a person–you care about?
Strawberries are one of the markers in the year that does this for me. When it’s strawberry season, I can’t help thinking about my Mom. I shared with you last week my childhood memories of strawberries and my Mom. Strawberries also remind me of her birthday. I think the strawberries celebrate her birthday, too, because they seem to peak right around her special day!
When I was at the farm picking strawberries earlier this week, I marveled at how there were loads of ripe ones close by for the picking. I didn’t have to range through the patch looking for enough to fill my quart container. Within a step or two of where I started, there were plenty for me.
Our loved one’s caring and love for us is much the same. People who truly love us are always there for us–only a step or two away. They may not know how to help us and we may become frustrated because of this. If we take a deep breath and center ourselves, we can see and feel their loving concern even though all they can do is send prayers and good vibes to us. We can help them help us by believing and knowing that they are thinking of us and sending us their very best thoughts and wishes.
Thanks, strawberries, for reminding us that our loved ones truly do care for us and want the very best for us.
Here’s to fathers the world over who share themselves with their children: teaching us about intellectual pursuits and the value of education; the joy of physical activity, goofing around, and sportsmanship; the honor of putting our best foot forward and—regardless of the outcome—the satisfaction of knowing we did our best.
Thank you fathers for holding our hand when we needed it and for pushing us out of our comfort zones when we needed that—and thanks for knowing the difference!
Thank you fathers for showing us that real men step up to the plate and do what needs doing, whether they want to or not or whether it’s cool or not. Thanks for showing us that real men are gentle, compassionate, kind, and forgiving, and that they also know when to be tough, strong, and fierce.
Thanks fathers for showing us how to live with honor and integrity and that those virtues really are the best guides in life.
