Are We There Yet? vol. 113

I find that sometimes, things I read or hear resonate with me, are forgotten and then come back to me at the right time. Several months ago, in a newsletter for my daughter’s school, one of the teachers wrote about her father and his attitude as he was approaching his death. She wrote that “to his dying day, my father was teaching me how to live every moment of my life as if it were the last.”  She noted how kind and appreciative he was for the caregivers who were taking care of him despite the considerable pain that he was experiencing.  

She had a list of ways to behave that are always appropriate but even more so now as we are in a stressful period both here and globally. It would be easy and forgivable if we weren’t as kind or caring as we want to be but that’s why I feel like I have to be more mindful and intentional about my behavior right now.   

Her list included the following:

• Be grateful and show gratitude to others for efforts big and small
• Love wholly and particularly those who may not be easy to love in the moment
• Do not judge, believing that each of us is doing the best we can
• Forgive fully
• Be kind and imagine that the last thing you ever did was to make someone else’s day

If we can collectively be more intentional about these five items, everyone would benefit.  As noted in recent editions, it’s easy to lose perspective and forget or neglect what is truly important.

This week’s selection is:

BOOK:

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone

When American businessman John Wright vanishes one morning from his hotel, his wife, Ariel Pryce, insists he was kidnapped, but issues soon emerge that make both the Lisbon police and the CIA skeptical.