September 10, 2018: Be the Good

Day 3 | 30 Days of Writing


Believe there is good in the world. Be the good.

I love this sign. And I especially love the goodness of the people who surround me. With this week being my birthday week and second year in my fifties, I am reminded of all the great people I have met along the way.

Blessings come in many forms, but the joy of friendship is one I appreciate more and more with each passing year. I marvel at the length of so many of my relationships and equally how the new ones seem to come out of nowhere but always at the right time. Often my many worlds collide unexpectedly. The connectedness in these relationships goes far beyond the six degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Tonight was a prime example. Four women. One common tie but an unlikely friendship of varying ages and stages of life. A young widow with children just starting school, a second marriage empty-nester, a career woman with kids in high school, and a mom right in the middle of all these stages.

We all shared the same employer at one point in our lives. Only one is still there. I was there for 22 years. The other two were there for much shorter periods of time, but had never crossed in their periods of employment. They met through the other two, who just assumed they knew each other. It took one night of sharing life that they felt like they had known each other forever.

Our deck time tonight was the celebration of my upcoming birthday. With a homemade feast of tacos, guacamole and pico, we enjoyed great conversation topped off with some wine and a freshly baked butter cake with fruit sauce.

Conversation centered around topics of death, life, faith, recent world news, varying views of current issues, parenting and being parented. Just to name a few. As I sat back enjoying our conversation, I was reminded of an Eleanor Roosevelt quote that is top of mind frequently with my friendships and a reminder of why I value them so much.

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."

There is no gossip in these friendship circles. There is no tearing others down in our conversations. Great friends lift each other up and be the good. And this doesn't mean we have to agree on everything, because we don't. But we are respectful. We listen and take in the views of the others to gain more of our own perspective.

And then there is the humor element. We laugh a lot. Not only do the best friendships enjoy a lot of laughter, each can laugh at themselves too. I am not sure whether Eleanor Roosevelt has a quote on this, but she should.

Believe there is good in the world.

I sure do. It is everywhere if you take the time to look with an open mind and heart.

Be the good.

Anyone can do it. No schooling or training is required. God gave us each a heart and soul. It is up to us to use them in the right way. And a little deck time with good friends and tacos can sure help too.

Just do it.

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