Wonderful people
I would like to think I’m alone in saying that we all often overlook the most precious things in life, but I’m afraid I’m not. I could list numerous things of which I hold dear to my heart. I’m sure we all could. But do we really mean it? Do we really mean it when we tell our friends we love them. Do we really mean it when we tell the cashier at the grocery store ‘thank-you’? Do we? I believe we often times go through the motions of life and miss those special opportunities to genuinely show our gratitude to those who, with all their heart, did something kind for us.
All of this stems from a conversation I had on the phone with one of my dearest friends tonight. He’s a flight attendant for US Airways so he is a well traveled, well spoken young man. I love him to death. I say I love him. And I know deep down I really do. But I think often times I take for granted the unique friendship he and I truly share. He has always been there for me no matter what the situation might have been. It didn’t matter (or doesn’t matter) if I was on top of the world because I got a promotion at Apple or if I was at my life’s worst moments (you know, the kind when you just want to die), he was there. Telling me good job or it’s going to be alright. He said something tonight that brought a few tears to my eyes. He basically retold a story (about me) to me. It’s as if I got to play the ear of his mother (the person to whom the story was originally told) and hear the glorious things he says about me even when I’m not around. That is the mark true friend. How often do we toot the horn of another if they’re no where to be seen or heard? Not too often I would imagine. Most of us only play the good guy or the proclaimer when we know somebody is going to see or notice. I believe we can all improve on being better people in that regard. Thank you, Adrian, for inspiring me to be a better person.
If you’ve never seen Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion, I would recommend doing so. It’s a silly movie, but has so many quotable lines. I bring it up because in the end, the lesson learned is the fact that we all make other people jealous or unhappy in some way, all the while being made green with envy or upset by somebody else. It’s a sliding scale. A continuum if you will? We all play a part in this crazy little world. Some people are below us (in our own minds, at least), some people above us. Perhaps that’s possibly the worst way to look at it. Maybe we should view it more horizontally instead. Like, everybody is next to us. Nobody’s better. Nobody’s worse. We are all special in some way and all have something unique to offer.
Adrian has always told me how much he looks up to and respects me. He often reminds me how brilliant I am. He never ceases to vocalize his admiration. I fear I’ve neglected to do the same, even though I’ve truly thought to myself he does the same for me, but in very different ways. I could name people I look up to. You know, those I am always telling how much they inspire me, but I won’t. Just know that they exist. It basically proves my theory that we all place ourselves somewhere in the continuum of being.
I guess the moral of the story is this: Tell your friends you love them and mean it. Tell those who aid you (whether it’s a cashier at the grocery store or a stranger on the street who picks up your dropped paper and so graciously hands it back to you before it blows away) thank you and mean it. Tell your family you love them and mean it. Do everything you do with meaning. You’re life will in turn be more, well, meaningful! Trust me. xo
Add comment August 18th, 2006
