A day in the life...: December 2014

This season crept up so quickly like a thief in the night, yet it was the smoothest Christmas season I have experienced. There seemed to be a feeling of ease and lack of rush that I have not sensed maybe ever. It could have been that it was easier or maybe I was overshadowed by a death. I recently attended the funeral of a beloved influence in my life. They say we are influenced everyday by even the stranger we acquaint ourselves with, and so I must believe that those placed in our lives from the beginning hold even stronger sway. So it was with Sheila. I lived close to Sister Larsen all my life and our lives connected through church and children my age. Our families were not close but our lives intersected all through my formative years and into my adulthood. Her daughter and I were dear friends and I spent time in their home learning. It was not intentional learning but the kind that occurs while people are unaware. The kind that makes a mind decide things like living a life of good choices will give you peace. That is what I learned from this woman. Good choices bring peace. She lived her life that way. Don't misunderstand... neither Sheila nor myself have lived without pain, disappointment, trial or challenge, but the secret she imparted to me was that you can be happy in spite of those things. You can overcome the frustration and anger. You can surmount the pain and challenge which will open your eyes to the other things happening all around. There was never a time that I didn't encounter this woman without a genuine smile on her face. A smile that said she was completely interested in where and how I had been. Sometimes I was a little taken back at the ability she had to care about me, a person who was not within her daily events, yet she was invested. I never left her without feeling better about myself or the world in general. Sheila had a way of making a difference in the most important way.....person by person. It's a common misconception that to change the world one must create a monumental shift that veers an entire society into another direction. There are many people who have attempted and successfully accomplished this throughout history for good and ill, but then there are the Socrates of the world. The people who created shifts with small questions or insightful behavior on an individual basis which shifted a mind..... a single mind. One person who in the intricate web of their life went on to impart that shift to each and every person they came in contact. Both Socrates and Sheila made people think a little deeper and ask hard questions of themselves. This was what caused the shift. So maybe the trick isn't monumental change but leaving each person a little better for knowing you. Maybe it's not a trick at all but a creed that everyone should strive to live by. Remember that no one leaves you untouched. The influence from the smallest encounter changes us and so maybe this season wasn't easy. Maybe I just put things into perspective and so I owe another debt of gratitude to a woman who once again influenced me for good. Thank you Sheila for a life well lived.

A day in the life...

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

A day in the life...: O life lived....

O life lived....

A day in the life...: The Last in the Nest

A day in the life...: In death I knew you

A day in the life...: Living in the gutter