I recently had a conversation with a friend I didn’t know was a friend. I had know this person for the past few years on a very casual basis. Neither one of us really knew anything about each other. All I knew was that this person was the kind of person you’d probably like to get to know better.

Never did I expect one simple question to dramatically impact me so profoundly.

It wasn’t so much the question itself, it was the interaction that stemmed from the question. We began with a very innocent and [Read more →]

WARNING:

This post contains a BIG BOLD STATEMENT.

It seems like a lot of people are looking for happiness. Walk through any bookstore and count the number of times you see the words “happy” or “happiness”. If you had $5 for each time you saw those words you could probably make a mortgage payment. Just for fun, Google the word “happiness”. The last time I did, Google came back with over 75,400,000 entries. I found sites about happiness quotes, happiness poems, happiness articles, happiness blogs, happiness affirmations, happiness posters, happiness videos, even happiness retreats. I found happiness everything.

I can’t help but wonder…with such an overly abundant supply of happiness support materials, are we in the middle of some sort of [Read more →]

I don’t know how to eat.

You’d think after some 50,000 meals that I’ve had in my lifetime I would have figured out this eating thing. It’s not the physical act of ingesting food that’s got me stumped. It’s not the chewing, and my fork skills are excellent.

It’s the tasting.

Food, for the most part, is something that I simply consume. It’s no different than regular unleaded is to my Honda Accord.  When the tank gets empty it’s time to refuel. Spending a great deal of my time on the road affords me the opportunity to sample a wide variety of not-so-good-for-you fast foods.  Far too many of my meals begin with a static-filled conversation involving a speaker and a window.

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Wise advice from my favorite doctor:

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

So much about the quality of life is really how we chose to look at it. It’s where and what we chose to focus our attention on. The quote above, from Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, perfectly illustrates that point.

Think of anything good that has ever happened in your life. A special relationship, a great vacation, the best school year ever, an incredible concert, your business taking off. Anything. The laws of the universe dictate, unfortunately, that all things will eventually come to an end. At some point, something is gone. A void will be created. When things that matter no longer exist, we are conditioned to focus on the loss and sadness that accompany it.  It’s a very natural reaction, one that I’ve quite often experienced myself.

WHAT IF… With our understanding of the temporary nature of all things, what if we could use that wisdom to change our response to life when what was no longer is?

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Has anyone ever made your day?

Do you remember how it made you feel?

I had a great experience recently. It made my day. I received a message from someone in response to a comment I made on her blog post. She had eloquently written a piece that resonated with me at a very deep level. Her words prompted me share my honest appreciation for what she had written. Later, she sent me a warm reply which included these words: “you made my day”.

Wow.

I was stunned. I made someone’s day? Me? How did that happen?

I don’t know if I’ve ever made anyone’s day before. If I did, no one ever told me that I did. But the funny thing about being told that you made someone’s day is that, in turn, it makes your day as well. I can still feel the physiological changes that instantly radiated within me. Four little words, a simple expression of thanks and gratitude, made me a better person that day.

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