A few days ago, I gave my friend of 60 years an assignment.
For years, I always let her know that I was taller than she. Try as she might, she would stand right next to me to make sure and never yet has she surpassed me in height.
So, when I gave her the assignment, I skipped the "how tall are you?" part and used the age card.
"I'm older than you, so you have to do this assignment," I advised her.
Yes, she IS two years younger than I, but this friend could really pull rank on me if she wanted to brag about all that she's accomplished with her life in this world----always with a few basic constants, most notably a lifelong love of horses and of the gifts of nature.
We were talking on the phone after she had sent me a note telling me that her brother was living his last days on Earth. She suggested that I give him a call so I did.
In our extended conversation about her brother and life in general, we talked about the state of the world and of humanity.
My friend keeps a journal, and one entry focuses on the basic guidelines she believes are necessary to navigate all the sadness, frustration and uncertainty toward the future.
When she relayed her simple but wise thoughts to me over the phone, that's when I gave her the assignment.
Write that down and send it to me, I said.
Before our conversation ended, she shared with me a few other nuggets she had written about friendship, personal behavior and loss.
Send those too, I said.
Well, sadly, I received her assignment the same day her brother passed away. She had received word from one of his sons that the end was near and that their dad had given them a map.
"A map?" she asked.
"Yes, he left us the map showing us how to be good fathers, good husbands, and good friends. We will follow his directions."
What a gift from a good man, I thought.
His legacy will surely stay alive and healthy through those children.
Back to my friend.
She knew that the assignment would appear in an upcoming blog post.
What better day than today, at the beginning of a new calendar year, I thought.
Granted, her wisdom has and still does represent universal long held beliefs, but the words came directly from my longtime, dear friend at an emotional time in her life.
The thoughts are pure and from the heart of a good and amazing woman, whom I have always treasured as a friend.
Moreover, the teacher in me says we can all review these thoughts over and over and practice them until we get them right.
So, for the start of a new year, bits of wisdom from my friend Susie "Sky" Baldwin.
~~~~
1) Recognize the special talents, gifts, and strengths your friend
has. Cherish and honor them, for by merely being their friend you have
benefited from them.
If you focus on the friend's short-comings, and we
all have these too, you both lose.
2) Be your bigger, better self as
much as possible, and the little, lesser self will disappear.
3) In
times of deep, personal loss we receive many small gifts of love in many
different forms and in unexpected ways, such that the loss becomes a
gain.
Nothing was really lost but everything was gained! The loss was
only in the physical world, not the spiritual one.
So I have tears of
sadness and and joy simultaneously and a heart full of gratitude.
~~~~
In trying times I tried to figure out what was most important for us to
survive.
I decided that it was imperative to hang onto our basic
GOODNESS, because this keeps us from harming others and helps us to make
the right choices in difficult situations.
We must hang onto our basic
JOYS in life, because that keeps us engaged in life and replenishes our
spirit.
And finally we must hang onto HOPE, because that reminds us
that we can make a difference which prevents us from becoming apathetic.
If we fall prey to apathy, we will never act even in small ways to help
make the world better.
If everyone gives up, where will that lead us?
Now more than ever we must step up and not give up.
Thank you, Susie.
BTW: I'm still taller than you!
Happy Sunday to all.
No comments:
Post a Comment