Thoughts on another year gone by...

Today is my 47th birthday. Normally, for all of us, 47 is not exactly a benchmark, but for me, it's a signifigant event. My father never saw 47. When I was 17 and a senior in high school, he suffered a coronary and passed away suddenly. I have considered this day ever since and what this day would mean to me. My Aunt Marilyn in Chicago shared a particularly touching bit of wisdom about the event:

"I know what you mean about the age thing.....Mom died at 68....I'll be 68 in Sep. I think once that b'day passes and a person feels that now it really is their own life, they aren't walking exactly in the other's shoes....it's a new day and an uplifting of mind and spirit."

An uplifting of mind and spirit. What a wonderful thought. We so often go through our daily routine by rote, and don't take the time to appreciate what we are blessed with. I've recently gone through several life changing events and with each there is a learning moment. The most important lesson to learn from each is the lesson of kindness. If you cannot be kind to yourself, to the others around you who are suffering or celebrating, then the experience for you is going to be diminished. The lessons that are inherent in any life-changing experience won't get through. So, as the times in your life come that test your strength, your faith, your understanding of the human experience, it's important to understand kindness. Say hello to a stranger, help a fellow in need, hug the people around you that you love and send kindness out into the world.

(As I write this, I'm listening to the songs in my iTunes and I've got them on shuffle. The song that has just shuffled to play is a song by Josh Groban from his album "Awake" called "You Are Loved (Don't give up)". Sometimes I just think that there are messages of hope and kindness all around us. )