What matters

Today my oldest daughter graduates from college. Tomorrow my youngest daughter begins high school advance placement tests and finals. Today is celebratory in our family; tomorrow is challenging. Regardless of each young woman’s perspective, both daughters are passing a milestone in their lives. For each I share some insights based on my own moments in time.

1. Be proud of what you have accomplished. Recognize what may not have worked out so well. Learn from both. Then move on. Our society has taken to measuring life’s early developmental progress with academic markers. Education is important – let there be no doubt about that. But not all forms and types of education are as meaningful to some people as to others. Find the types that mean something to you. Don’t perseverate about the ones that do not.

2. Notice the way a towering evergreen tree dips its tip into a deep blue sky. Imagine the feeling that all life experiences in reaching beyond itself. Reach.

3. Listen to your pulse. It beats in a rhythm uniquely yours. Pay attention to what you hear in that pulse. Sometimes it will tell you that you can press on, try harder, stretch further. Sometimes it will counsel you to take things slower, to pace yourself better. Trust what you hear. Act on that trust.

4. Walk. Don’t scoff at age-old learning related to exercise, nutrition, hydration, sleep, and healthy habits. Your wellbeing is under your control. Simple lessons from those who have lived before you should not be summarily dismissed or ignored. Walk, as much as you can.

5. Hug people. Modern science has shown that daily hugging is biologically good for you. Centuries of social living have shown that touching others with care and respect is one of the joys associated with being.

6. Forgive yourself when you disappoint yourself. Because you will. Forgive others when they disappoint you. Because they will.

7. Laugh. Smile. Enjoy being kind. Appreciate kindness shown to you.

8. Keep going. The sun sets on today so that it can rise on tomorrow. Rise with it, if not at the same time then with the same steadfastness. Don’t be fooled by overcast or rainy days. The cycle of life is still spinning. Spin too.

9. Show up. You won’t find fortune in this world if you aren’t engaged in it. You may miss part of life’s wonder if you aren’t present. So be present. Be present when you don’t feel like it. Be present when it’s not convenient. Be present when it’s not trendy. Just – be – present.

10. Nurture humility. We all want to make a difference. And we all do. Some of us get more public recognition than others; that is the way it is. Be happy for those who are acknowledged. Be happy that you are able to acknowledge others.

11. Love. A lot. Even when it hurts. Even when it feels one-sided. Don’t confuse love with other forms of affection. Do find comfort in the realization that real love takes a lifetime to understand.

12. Touch the majestic. It is there, around you, each and every day. No can experience it for you. No one can take it away from you. The miracle of life manifests itself in a multitude of ways. Experience the wonder of being inside moments of subtle and supreme connectedness.

Above all else, breathe. And always remember that you matter.

One thought to “What matters”

  1. I need to place this one in a highly visible place. Thank you! I am greatly enjoying all of your posts.

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