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The reason why our lives are so lean and poverty-stricken, so disappointing and ineffective, is because we do not really live in the day; we do not concentrate our energy, our ambition, our attention, our enthusiasm, upon the day we are living.

Resolve to enjoy yourself to-day.  Enjoy to-day, and do not let the hideous shadows of to-morrow, the forebodings, and the things you dread, rob you of what is yours to-day–your inalienable right to be happy to-day.

Just have a little heart-to-heart talk with yourself every morning, and say:  “It does not matter what comes or what goes to-day, what happens or what does not happen, there is one thing of which I am sure, and that is, I am going to get the most possible out of the day.  I am not going to allow anything to rob me of my happiness, or of my right to live this day from beginning to end, and not merely to exist.

“I do not care what comes, I shall not allow any annoyance, any happening, any circumstances which may cross my path to-day, to rob me of my peace of mind.  I will not be unhappy to-day, no matter what occurs.  I am going to enjoy the day to its full, live the day completely.  This day shall be a complete day in my life.  I shall not allow the enemies of my happiness to mar it.  No misfortune in the past, nothing which has happened to me in days gone by, which has been disagreeable or tragic, no enemies of my happiness or efficiency, shall be a guest in my spirit’s sacred enclosure to-day.  Only happy thoughts, joy thoughts, only the friends of my peace, comfort, happiness, and success, shall find entertainment in my soul this day. . . .”

Remember that yesterday is dead.  To-morrow is not yet born.  The only time that belongs to you is the passing moment.  One might liken the sixty minutes in the hour to flowers, that live for only sixty seconds and then die.  If we get the good that belongs to us here and now, we must extract the sweetness of each passing minute while it is ours.  That is the real art of living in the to-day.

One today is worth two tomorrows.
-Benjamin Franklin

Yesterday is history and tomorrow is merely a figment of your imagination.  So if you think about it, today is the only day you’re truly alive.  Here’s how to make it a good one:

1. Get started a few minutes early.
2. Work on something that’s meaningful to you.
3. Complete an important piece of unfinished business.
4. Spend time with positive, friendly people.
5. Do something nice for someone else.
6. Be present. Focus on where you are, what you’re doing and who you’re with right now.
7. Do one thing at a time.
   
8. Listen to your self-talk.  When you hear negative thoughts, think about the positive side of things.
9. Smile, even when there’s no pressing reason to do so.
10. Unplug.  Entertain yourself with real-world experiences.
11. Go somewhere new.  See something new.  Meet someone new.
12. Do something that makes you laugh.
13. Challenge your mind.
    
14. Challenge your body.  Exercise for 30 minutes.
    
15. Let someone help you.
16. Clear a little clutter by getting rid of something you don’t need.
17. Be honest with yourself and those around you.
18. Don’t compare yourself to others.  Instead, let them inspire you.
19. Spend a few minutes alone in silence, just thinking.
20. Focus on solutions.
21. Keep an open mind to new ideas and information.
22. Handle important two-minute tasks immediately.
23. Stay out of other people’s drama.  And don’t needlessly create your own.
24. Say, “Please,” “Thank you,” “I’m sorry” and “I love you,” when you should.
25. Don’t try to please everyone.  Just do what you know is right.
26. Eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner.
27. Savor the natural joy of simple pleasures.
28. Notice what’s right with the world.
29. Focus on all the things you already have, think about them and appreciate them.
30. Get to sleep a little earlier tonight so you’re well rested tomorrow.

And remember, a smile is the most beautiful curve on the human body.  So go now and strut your stuff.

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts on things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t overdo. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class – but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. Remember – you don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful, or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Innermost is always happy. So, be happy.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever… Never let the brain get idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’
And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM /HER.

6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever… Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don’t take guilt trips… Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. I love you, my special friend.

11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance… Remember! Lost time can never be found.

12. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

By Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D

It seems our culture is ridden with negativity from the media, old parental messages, or even advertising that tells us we not good, smart, or fast enough. Even outdated ideas we carry from our own past that we’ve generated all on our own can derail us off the positive thought track and send us into a fit of negativity. How can we quickly change our energy around and build more confidence and happiness?

Recognize non-empowering thoughts

If we believe everything that is put in front of us, we are not exercising our creativity and the power of our own mind. We are taking the easy road, and subscribing to mainstream thought which often does not have the equivalent of goodness. It’s easier to let someone else do your thinking, isn’t it? To shift away from negative, self-defeating thoughts you must first recognize them. Here are a few classics: “I am not beautiful nor talented. I can’t be happy. Life is hard. The world is a terrible place. I will probably fail. I’ll never make any money.” Awareness of what we are thinking is the first step, so learn to listen to your words, whether mental or spoken.

Set a new mental equivalent

What we think, and how we set our mental equivalent on any given day, sets the tone for what the universe will provide for us. If we want success, prosperity, better relationships, more self-confidence or love, then that’s where our mind needs to be – not once in awhile but all the time. Substitute the disasters on the morning news with a sense of positive expectation for your day. Rise out of negativity in as many ways as you can identify. Think great thoughts about everyone. See yourself as a success, and that you’ve come to the planet with a gift. Practice verbal harmlessness (no swearing!) and know you are a worthy individual. Switch on the positive thought channel the minute you arise each day and consciously invite abundance and opportunity into your experience.

Know that thoughts create reality

In today’s merge of mysticism, psychology, religion, science, and philosophy, western thinking is moving away from hard data and proof. Our culture is interested in illustrating the concept that thoughts create reality. Logical positivism had its field day, and people are beginning to embrace the power of the mind at the intuitive and spiritual level.

To turn negative self-talk around, you must discover where your mind is ingrained with patterns of negative expectation. This was discussed in the movie “What The Bleep Do We Know.” Our neuro networks become ingrained in patterns that make us search for a chemical “hit” in our interpretation of reality. In a nutshell, when we continue to stay in negative thought patterns that do not serve our higher purpose we are destined to keep repeating the same life experiences over and over again because we will never view reality any differently. Our lives will never improve and living with joy seems unattainable because we are generating more of what we don’t want.

Negative thoughts have a physical effect on our bodies

Our thoughts, memories, and emotions are not only part of our mental programming, but have a physiological effect on our bodies. Scientists have determined that we hard-wire our own brains by our associative memory: our associations with people, events, times, places, and things. We assign emotions to the memories recorded in complex strings of nerve cells wired together. The strings become networks of information we can access automatically at any time.

Connections between our nerve cells are strengthened when repeated stimulated in a process called “long term potentiation.” Through associative learning, our brains are not only programmed by ordinary experiences but by extreme circumstances. Trauma actually changes the structure and function of the brain.

We rely upon many automatic programs to function. Neural networks give us an opportunity to shift into “cruise control.” We don’t have to think about making every keystroke when typing, we just do. We’ve established the network by repetition.

Thoughts affect our bodies, especially any thoughts that have become patterns that don’t serve us well. For example, putting yourself down is based upon old information and not the powerful, present moment. Old experiences like despair, low self-esteem, and self-pity are emotions that give us a chemical boost of neuropeptides, which guide our perception of our current day choices.

Cancel old thoughts and substitute powerful ideas

Want to feel better and stop negative self-talk? Prune your old negative programming and take charge of your current circumstances. New positive thoughts create new systems in the brain, which produce new chemistry associated with new emotional change. Break your “put down” habit neuron-by-neuron and learn to react differently to life! The next time you catch yourself in a put-down, say out loud, “I cancel that” and instantly substitute a new and powerful thought about you.

It’s vital to remember your thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and physicality are intertwined. Negative self-talk down can make you feel unmotivated and physically ill. Move your mind to a new way of being is a healthy habit you need to cultivate. Here are 5 quick ways to shift to the positive self-talk channel:

1. Check your state of mind. Choose your own attitude and emotions, not another person’s outlook on life. Focus your intentions in the present moment. Because we have a choice, life originates in the mind first. As within, so without. Be consciously aware of what you want to create – and claim it as your unique mantra.

2. Focus on today. Step away from old memories, past relationships, and hurts. Attend to the present. Find joy in what you bring to the table today. Take a deep breath, stay centered, and remind yourself you are a gift to the world!

3. See the big picture. In the universal equation, today is but a blink in time. Move gracefully through difficult moments with ease because you are not stuck there permanently – you are going “through it!” You can do this with out depleting your energy reserves by making a commitment to doing so. Remember, life goes all too quickly. Make each day count and quit wasting your energy on negative thoughts, unproductive thinking, and who said what to whom 10 years ago.

4. Release negative expectation. Focus on what YOU can do to contribute to a better world and not what others expect you to do. Pace yourself. As you practice positive expectation, you’ll find that better circumstances will be attracted to you naturally. Have faith in the process!

5. Be Thankful. There is no better way to change your energy then to turn up the volume on thankfulness. If you are thankful for what makes you happy, by the Law of Attraction, the universe will provide you with MORE to be thankful for. Be generous with gratitude – to those in your life who care, to your Higher Power, and to yourself for begin an individual spark of Divine Power. Your natural state is unlimited abundance, so be thankful for all you are and your journey.

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D. 2007. All Rights Reserved. See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

Author’s Bio

Dr. Charlene M. Proctor is the founder of The Goddess Network, Inc. an on-line educational resource for topics on spirituality, relationships, and women’s studies. Author of Let Your Goddess Grow! she is a researcher and educator in the field of women’s empowerment and develops self-empowerment strategies for women in all walks of life. She is a subject matter expert for Beliefnet.com, the world’s largest self-help and personal growth website. Her affirmations from The Women’s Book of Empowerment reach 2.7 million web visitors daily. She currently facilitates the PATH to Empowerment program for Lighthouse Path in Michigan, a residential women’s shelter for homeless mothers, teaching them how to cope with life and increase self-esteem and confidence. To learn more, visit http://www.thegoddessnetwork.net

By Alan Kearns

I thought I would start with a very light question this week.

How many people do you know that are 60+ who are totally fulfilled with their career and their lot in life? What if you could find out a common set of principles that you could apply to achieve this goal for you? This week’s podcast is with John Izzo, Ph.D and best-selling author of the Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die. This book came out of a television series that John did for the Discovery Channel. He spoke with more than 235 successful, mature adults and asked for their advice about careers, relationships and healthy living.

John has had a lifelong fascination with discovering what it means to live a full and meaningful life. It started when he was six years old and was further focused when his own father died at the young age of 36. His father’s death was a defining moment in his life. He recognized that “you don’t know how much time you have to live a life that really matters.” John wondered if there would be a way of discovering a path sooner rather than later.

He and his teams started by asking more than 15,000 people for recommendations of individuals who were 55+ and whom they thought were happy and successful. They ended up with more than 1,000 recommended people that met this criteria. They further refined that list to 235 people, aged 59 – 105. This group had a wide range of professions, income and education. They ended up spending between 2-3 hours asking each of them a set of survey questions on a variety of issues. Here are some of the types of questions they asked this group:

What brought you the greatest joy?

What has brought you the greatest sense of meaning and purpose in life?

What is the greatest fear at the end of life?

What one sentence would you give to those younger than you on finding a happy and meaningful life?

Now that you have lived most of your life, what are you almost certain brings you happiness?

What they discovered from this group of people were a common set of elements that were consistent in each one of their lives. You may be thinking that they all started their lives growing up in a happy home. To his great delight, most of these people were not born “happy” but moved towards this end with work and discipline. He said, “they were people like all of us that had slowly navigated towards a better quality of life”. All of them started at different points, but they all ended up in similar situations of authentic fulfillment in their lives. Here is this wise groups recipe for a successful career:

3 things not to do in your career

Don’t be greedy – Earn enough for what you need for your lifestyle.

Don’t seek status, power and popularity – There is always another level to be achieved. You will never satisfy this if you chase it.

Don’t worry about what other people think of you – A majority of people won’t remember who you are in 10 years time.

3 things to do in your career

Do focus on you – You have to choose work that is true to your soul. Your work has to be in alignment with who you genuinely are.

Do maintain balance – listen to your life. At times you can spend more time at work and other times you will need to do less. Trust your intuition about balance in your life.

Do work that gives you meaning – When your work is bigger than you, the impact is amazing and more rewarding.

I recognize all of these are not easy to do all of the time, but if you are continually intentional about being aware of these things in your life, you will find things will slowly move in a positive direction. Remember, as John says, “you don’t have to wait until you are 60 to be wise. We can discover the secrets to life at any age, the sooner we start practicing them, the more fulfilling our life will be.”

Need help with some of the dos and don’ts? Join our free teleworkshop based upon my book Get the Right Job Right Now! Looking for more of a personal approach? Book an initial consultation today.

Learning, along the road with you! Alan

P.S. The 5 Secrets from John’s book:

Be true to yourself Leave no regrets Become love Live the moment Give more than you take

Alan Kearns Canada’s Career Coach is the founder of CareerJoy: The Career Coaching Company. He is one of Canada’s foremost experts on all things relating to careers. Alan has more than 17 years of experience coaching professionals with successful career decisions. Alan was voted one of the Top 40 entrepreneurs under the age of 40 and is the author of Get the Right Job Right Now!

Positive psychology is a relatively new branch of psychology. According to the Web site of the International Positive Psychology Association, the subject can be defined as “the scientific study of what enables individuals and communities to thrive.” The movement, which began in the United States in the late 1990s, was based on research conducted by Dr. Martin Seligman and his colleagues. The research was seen as revolutionary for the way it authenticated positive emotions through empirical research.

Its emergence comes at an interesting time. On the one hand, those in the West enjoy the highest standard of living ever seen during humankind’s existence. On the other hand, according to Harvard psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar in his book Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, “rates of depression [in the US] are ten times higher today than they were in the1960s, and the average age for the onset of depression is fourteen and a half compared to twenty-nine and a half in 1960.”

Statistics like this prompted psychologists to ask the question, “If we are so wealthy, why aren’t we happy?” The answers, they argued, could be found in positive psychology. Two noted books that fit into the positive psychology genre, Ben-Shahar’s aforementioned Happier and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, explore answers to this important question.

Haidt’s tome, which was well received by both academia and the public when it was published in 2006, explores and examines 10 Great Ideas from throughout history and evaluates them in light of scientific research, finding common ground between the thoughts of the ancients and modern psychologists. According to Haidt’s Web site, the book is about how “to construct a life of virtue, happiness, fulfillment, and meaning.”

The hypothesis he ponders is “Does happiness come from within?” as the ancients proposed. Does Buddha’s oft-cited quote, “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind,” ring true today? Haidt believes it does, but is too simplistic given that our set point for happiness is largely determined by genetics. Although we have some room to increase our own level of happiness, it has to be done in a psychologically sophisticated way.

Haidt uses the metaphor of a rider on an elephant to explain how we can tame the mind. It can be done gradually through meditation, cognitive behavior therapy or Prozac. All three have been scientifically proven to bring positive change in the brain and lift our happiness baseline.

Another interesting point to bear in mind is the Adaptation Principle. Humans, Haidt argues, are bad at “affective forecasting,” or predicting how we will feel in the future. He uses two extreme examples to explain this: we predict that winning the lottery will make us incredibly happy, giving us financial freedom. Likewise, if we were paralyzed from the neck down, our life would be over, and we would live out the rest of our days in deep misery. However, studies show that both lottery winners and paraplegics, on average, return to their baseline level of happiness.

According to Haidt, lasting happiness and fulfillment comes not solely from within or entirely from outside, but from between — it’s about getting the inner and outer conditions right to flourish. He uses the metaphor of gardening to illustrate this idea:

Just as plants need sun, water, and good soil to thrive, people need love, work, and a connection to something larger. It is worth striving to get the right relationships between yourself and others, between yourself and your work, and between yourself and something larger than yourself. If you get these relationships right, a sense of purpose and meaning will emerge. Ben-Shahar’s Happier is more practical and less philosophical than Haidt’s work, but no less compelling. It is a result of the course he teaches at Harvard on positive psychology, which has become the university’s most popular course. In his own words, this book is “a bridge between the ivory tower and Main Street.” According to him, happiness is the ultimate currency, rather than money, status, prestige or any of the other things we confuse happiness with.

To illustrate how we can achieve happiness, he outlines the Hamburger Model. The greasy beef burger that tastes good now but is not good for us resembles the hedonist — the kind of person who seeks pleasure and avoids pain or places too much importance on the present without thinking about the future. Then there is the super healthy vegetarian burger that tastes like dirt but is good for us. This resembles the rat racer who suffers now for the purpose of some future gain — the future always trumps the present.

Next is the unhealthy burger that also tastes disgusting. That is the nihilist who has no lust for life, who does not enjoy the present or work toward any future goal because it is pointless. Finally, the best kind of burger to eat is one that tastes good and is healthy, and that is the happiness archetype — it has present and future benefit.

So, can you guess which model is most prevalent in many Western societies and which one should be (but is not) the most widespread? Yes, the rat racer is most strongly reinforced in the West (and in some other societies, especially in Asia) while the happiness model is the one that has proven to serve individuals best. Thus, according to Ben-Shahar, the question we should be pondering is not “Should I be happy now or in the future?” but “How can I be happy now and in the future?”

Also, he dispels the notion that “no pain, no gain” is the way to go about achieving success and getting ahead. Actually, he says, pain is not the optimal condition for peak performance. When we work at activities that are a source of both future and present benefit, we are more productive and engaged. Through enjoying the journey that has a sense of purpose, we can expect a better outcome. Ben-Shahar highlights the importance of goals, which he sees as means, not just ends. According to him, people who seek personally meaningful goals and thereby engage in activities that are in line with their values function better in all aspects of their lives.

Both Haidt and Ben-Shahar cite work by psychologist David Myers, who illustrated, perhaps counter intuitively, that there is a low correlation between material wealth and happiness. When people are out of poverty and their basic needs are met, happiness is not determined by how much money you make or the material wealth you have. Happiness is much more complex. As Haidt notes, many people in poorer parts of the world lead unenviable lives on the outside (such as the prostitutes of a Calcutta slum interviewed by researchers), but from the inside, they are content, spending a lot of time with close friends and family.

What then, can we say definitively about happiness? The most striking point is that money does not equal happiness, except in cases where people are lifted out of poverty. The rat racer archetype does not lead to happiness, nor does the hedonist. Importantly, we have some control over our happiness level. Happiness, then, is about finding meaning and purpose and connecting with others. As Ben-Shahar surmises, “Attaining lasting happiness requires that we enjoy the journey on our way toward a destination we deem valuable.”

“Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” – Helen Keller

One of the most essential ingredients for a happy life is to discover your purpose. We all have one, the key is to uncover it, and begin acting in a fashion that will help you carry it out.

I have been so blessed my entire life, getting to live out my earliest dreams of a career in the Entertainment industry. However, not long ago, I discovered a second, more meaningful sense of purpose. I felt a need to share my zeal for the subject of happiness with the world. In doing so, I not only get to write about my favorite subject, I also get the opportunity to help others by doing so.

The exciting thing about the age we live in is that now, there really is almost nothing you can’t do or achieve for yourself and your loved ones. That is certainly true for the online world.

Why not give some thought to what really makes you tick? What do you love doing? What is your favorite subject? What do you think you were put on this planet to accomplish?

Once you have your answer, you need to reflect on what you’ll do with it.

For instance, once I realized that happiness was a subject I was passionate about, I had the idea to start a website focusing on it.

This was no great shock or surprise to my wife because for the past 20 years, I have tried and failed at so many entrepreneurial business ideas that I could actually fill a book with them. In fact, soon I will be writing a book about how to remain happy in life despite numerous disappointments along the way. You must be able to overcome multiple failures before reaching ultimate success. It’s all about making that all important choice every step of the way. Choosing Happiness!

Finally, after so many years of wanting to start my own business, I realized that I had the power in my hands the moment the internet was a reality. And, so do you! If you want to change your life and truly start living with your birthright of happiness and abundance, please reach out and give me a call or write to me. There is nothing I’d like more than to be able to serve you and help you live the life you were meant to live…

Blessings and Happiness,
Ricky

“Just a minute”, answered a frail, elderly voice.

I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90′s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940′s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

“Would you carry my bag out to the car?” she asked.

I took the suitcase to the cab, and then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

“It’s nothing”, I told her… “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.”

“Oh, you’re such a good boy,” she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly…

“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.”

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,” she continued in a soft voice… “The doctor says I don’t have very long.”

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

“What route would you like me to take?” I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked, reaching into her purse.

“Nothing,” I said

“You have to make a living,” she answered.

“There are other passengers,” I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

“You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,” she said. “Thank you.”

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light… Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life…

I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one. It’s the little things that mean the most.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

Thanks to my friend Claudia for reminding me of this story. I had heard it for the first time quite a while ago, but thought it was important enough to pass along to you! I hope you enjoyed it.