Over Easy

I had lunch with a very dear friend yesterday. Isn't it amazing how such deep bonds can form so quickly? But I digress. While we were catching up she told me about something that had happened to her a few days earlier. As she was exiting a grocery store she was met by a couple and their little boy also exiting the store. The little boy was carrying a bouquet of flowers and my friend quickly made the assumption they were for his mother.

She was wrong.

The little boy walked up to my friend and handed her the flowers. Although quite touched, she initially refused the flowers, but on their further insistence she accepted them. The flowers it turns out were to memorialize the couple's son who had passed a year earlier. This was their way of using a tragic loss to spread love in this world. Little did they know that my friend is also grieving the loss of her son, somewhat more recently though. So as a result of this single act of kindness, the sun shone bright on two families sharing the same loss and the sadness was lifted for a few golden moments. What an awesome gift to give.

As I get older (I turn 50 on Sunday), I myself have had somewhat of an epiphany. Now I am very far from perfect, but I have decided that I have the ability to shine light and happiness into this world as opposed to submitting to the dismal gloom that seems to have a stranglehold on our society. We are surrounded by institutions where respectful discourse has now degenerated into violent interactions. Our first instinct is to close off and demand what's in it for me. Men behave like oafs and slobs instead of gentlemen and women have tainted their noble quest for equality by lowering and not maintaining the behaviours that make a woman a lady. We have entered this death spiral of believing there is only one way to achieve our goals - selfishness, division, anger and isolation. Things have got to change!

The good news is that it will cost you nothing more than time and a commitment to integrity. Time to think how will that person be impacted by my actions? Time to think before you speak. Time to interact with people with no other goal than spreading friendship. Time to be with your children and mold them. Time to listen, listen and listen some more. Time to find the win win without being forced to sacrifice your beliefs and values. The integrity to live those values when it gets hard....when doing the right thing is the most difficult.

Now before you worry about me, no I'm not turning into a liberal progressive! I am, however, committed to leaving this life with the knowledge that I have tried to bring a smile where only darkness prevailed. I challenge you to do the same.....