Focusing on What's Important

When it comes to life, the critical thing is 
whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.
G.K.Chesterton

by Skip Cohen
​
If you want to develop a keener sense of gratitude, appreciation, thankfulness, and simply feeling blessed - go through any kind of disaster. A week ago Friday, we arrived home after a mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Ian. Things are relatively back to normal for us, but not for thousands of people south of us.

From friends who still don't have power to those whose homes were completely leveled and who lost lives, it's an experience so beyond humbling that I don't know what to call it. And while we were lucky, it doesn't change the concern that less than thirty minutes away, it will be years before there's any sense of normalcy.

If you've followed me for even a few Sunday Morning Reflections posts, you already know I write with my heart and rarely about business and marketing. But honestly, I don't know how to describe my feelings. I hug Shiela and the pups a little tighter than usual; I wander around my yard and our neighborhood with an appreciation for still having a place to walk; I find myself incredibly sappy with so many friends who have checked in to see if we're okay.

I have noticed a greater appreciation for how little "stuff" really matters. We spend our lives accumulating things that don't really matter when the only things that mean anything are those people (and pets) who own a piece of real estate in your heart. It's that piece of each of us that no outside force can touch.

We were out to dinner last night with a wonderful friend, who we love dearly. She lost her husband and our good friend over a year ago. I wrote a post about it. While Frank is gone, it doesn't change how important she is to us or the feeling of Frank's presence at the table.

And here's my point - pay attention to what's truly important in your life. If you look closely enough, you'll find the key to success is in the people who make you smile from the inside out. These are the people who represent the foundation of who you are and build your love for life.

Sadly, it took a disaster like the last couple of weeks to sharpen my sense of gratitude, but I suppose that's simply how life is. We all get caught up in the rat race, and we miss the point along the way.

The best things in life are the people we love,
the places we've seen and the memories we've made along the way.
Anonymous  

Wishing everybody a day ahead to make some great memories with people you love. They don't have to be big events, just times when you open your heart and recognize how much you have to be grateful for - regardless of whatever pain you might be in. Those eleven-second therapeutic hugs I've been suggesting for years were never more important than today.

​Happy Sunday...or Monday on the other side of the world.