the good things

Today I heard someone say, “your opinion of me doesn’t matter and it doesn’t make up my self- worth.” And I thought, hmmm..is that really true or something we just tell ourselves? My mind got to thinking about how the way others think about us often reflects what we think about ourselves. Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

If a child is raised being told he is a loser all his life he is statistically going to feel like a failure at most everything he achieves while the one who is encouraged and uplifted is more likely to be a more well-rounded, self-confident and secure person. As parents we often praise our children. Teachers encourage students. Coaches motivate players and so on. But it is usually given on an “as needed basis” and only when pertaining to the subject at hand. It’s easy to critique and find fault but more difficult to see good and praise even the smallest of things. This then led my mind down an entirely different trail. And I began to wonder why do we wait until someone dies to mention the good things about them? And then gather in a room filled with other people who also knew them and probably knew the same or similar things? Why? When the people in our lives are alive today?

I once attended a retreat where letters were written from various people that knew the attendees and the letters were then dispersed to them at a special dinner. It was a very emotional time and those letters still hold unique significance for each of them, myself included. For one attendee in particular it was the last and only letter ever received from his father as his dad passed away only a few months later unexpectedly. I challenge you to take the time.

We live in an electronic age sending thousands of emails a week. Why not send one person in your life an email a day? Tell them what they mean to you TODAY. Tell them the good things they bring to your life, the things that make them spectacular to you. The smile that lights up a room, the personality that is full of energy and makes them a joy to be around, the faith that moves mountains, whatever itis. Why wait to tell strangers what this person has done in your life? Tell THEM. I did this myself and I can tell you it is not an easy task. If you REALLY search your heart it’s almost like writing a eulogy but in present tense.

Take the time, MAKE the time because you never know how much time anyone really has. We truly are all works in progress and, I believe, deep down we all need the encouragement to know we are living a life of purpose and meaning, making a difference. Maybe my opinion of you doesn’t make up yourself-worth but it’s still nice when I hear the “good things” I bring to your world, to your life.

So again, I challenge you, open your email address book, get out your facebook friends list and start making a list of the “good things.” Share them while people you care about are still alive to appreciate it. So, Who is first on your list?

God has not called us to see through each other, but to see each other through. ~Author Unknown

 

© michelle bryant- is a freelance writer of several books available at most online book retailers or http://divinelyfocused.com/books/literally-focused/

(as published in Focus on Fabulous Magazine –

Spring 2016)

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