Life is short, so enjoy the journey :-)

Some of you may know that I work in a nursing home. It's an amazing job and I get to meet some wonderful people.  I've had some tell me that they couldn't do what I do, but really I get to do all sorts of things that most folks aren't able to at their chosen career. I get to sing and dance at work, I get to try to be my version of funny, I get to laugh a lot and I am fortunate enough to work with some excellent people who do the same and make the passage of time in a nursing home much more fun, warm and kind.

There is of course some sadness that comes with the job. We are also there in those final moments as this journey ends, and that is often difficult with a person that you have grown to care about.

I don't know why, but when I woke up today, I was thinking of one particular gentleman, who passed a few years ago, and some of his final words to me.

He told me, "Don't be afraid to be happy, or to laugh, that really good laugh that comes from the bottom of your belly.
Make sure you travel and see as much of the world as you can(he spent some time here telling me of many of the exotic places he and his wife journeyed to). Try weird foods, even the ones that you think are disgusting... Some of it will be surprisingly good, and the horrible ones you will laugh about for years.
And never be afraid to love, even if they don't love you back."

Even in his condition, his eyes were shining as he was sharing his wisdom. And while he never actually said;"Cherish the one your with" in words... I'm throwing it in there, because he said it with his expression and the tone of his voice when he spoke of his wife who had passed a few years before.

So my words today aren't my words at all, but the wisdom of one who is no longer with us, but who's message bears repeating.


Peace Kiddies... And don't forget to laugh :-)

 

Being Kindly Bold(Yes, I totally just made up that expression :-)

Just a short thought today, but I saw this quote on Facebook and as I was about to share it, it occurred to me how many things we don't do or say out of fear. Fear of rejection, fear of looking stupid and fear of what's around the next corner.

I'm pretty sure that the human race is the only species that undergoes a tremendous amount of personal pain just to avoid the possibility of different pain. Even if the rewards are potentially amazing.

I was imagining if other creatures reacted to idea that they "MAY" experience pain as we do. The Rabbit for example, is pretty low on the food chain. Every time it leaves it's home it could be attacked by land or air. If that was most of us(me included), we'd never leave our little rabbit hole, and yet it goes out every day, searches for food and for the most part frolics like it owns the woods.

It's not always easy. Sometimes being honest means using the dreaded "L" word, and sometimes it means parting ways and walking your own path..... The only thing that seems to be clear is that whatever the consequence for our "Boldness", in many cases, they are worse if we are silent...


So my challenge to all of us, is to be "Kindly Bold" (That's Bold, without the meanness :-)  in all of our relationships. Whether it is with our significant others, or telling a friend how grateful we are to have them, or even telling our children how proud we are of them.

To the People in our lives, lets be Bold, and Lets be Open.... and then, let's see what happens. Because there has to be more to life than hiding down the rabbit hole.


Peace Kiddies :-)   



You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it. - Benjamin Mee