Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber
Jane, if you are lurking in this thread somewhere, I believe you should post what prompted that comment from Dave on CD as well.
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This is a long note that I wrote in FB last evening. It all started with 1 very simple compliment yesterday in a ChiefDelphi pm:
I wrote this note in my head while sitting in traffic and admiring the beautiful Christmas lights popping up everywhere, making the note both pleasing to head-write and frustrating to think about. What inspired this note was a simple pm exchange with a mentor in FIRST. I had made a very simple compliment not expecting any response to it. To my surprise, he did respond and said that it was already Thursday and this was the first nice thing that had been said to him all week.
This was after reading a thread that was posted in ChiefDelphi about the meaning of Dave Lavery's changing lines in his signature section. Although it had been stated that the changes had to do with thank-yous sent to NASA by grateful recipients, several posters seemingly skipped over that information and moved on to other things such as continuing to guess that the changes were hints/clues to the 2009 game.
So - between these two things, I started thinking about our society as it is today. This is one of my favorite topics to think about, read about, discuss, and shake my head at. The adjective that popped into my head was: lazy.'That's a funny adjective', I thought. Usually, I think in terms of callous, fractured, selfish, pig-headed - but not necessarily 'lazy' as the first adjective when I think about current society.
If we are to the point that even in our families, we are not taking the time to shine light and love on our spouse, our child, our niece, our parent, our aging grandparent with a gentle compliment or a kind remark - and it gets to Thursday - then shame on us. If in our workplace or school, we get to Thursday without catching a boss or an employee or a fellow worker, teacher, or student, being good or doing something right or brave or innovative or kind - then shame on us. If we make it to Thursday without telling the reflection in the mirror that we look nice or we tried really hard today or that color makes our eyes sparkle - then shame on us.
We've gotten lazy. And that's a shame. The generations before us worked too hard for us to be lazy. Our grandparents labored so that their children could do better. And their children labored so that their children could have better. And many of us have and we are frittering it away and our children don't or won't necessarily understand the power of kindness or compliments or thank-yous because maybe just maybe they can't google them. That is a tongue-in-cheek remark but I believe there is truth to it. If your butt gets numb because you haven't gotten up from your computer in a while, hello - go for a walk. Outside. To the mailbox - to send a note to someone telling them you are thinking of them. If your blackberry is in your palm, type something kind and send it.
My mom is very proud of the fact that she found some red roses to attach to her name when she sends me an e-mail. Those little red roses are something that I miss when a day or two goes by and I haven't heard from her. My entire life, she has written me letters and would give them to me sharing thoughts, love, support, comfort, wisdom. When she discovered that e-mail could connect the distance between us, she was delighted and quickly found a way to make it more personal and loving. Supportive. She is not lazy. She is thoughtful and takes that extra moment to create magic. She is 80.
So, these are my thoughts tonight: we're lazy and we waste opportunities to make a difference in matters of thoughtfulness, kindness, and attitude. We waste opportunities to put our best foot forward, to shine, and to help others shine when they look inside themselves.
Thursdays are going to be a special day for me, I think. I'll see them as a marker to gauge myself with a little check box. Hopefully, the box will have been checked off no later than Monday - telling me that I did indeed share a kind word or an encouraging one or one of support. That mentor gives something of himself every single day. I see it reflected in his generous contributions to ChiefDelphi yet he made it all the way to Thursday without one word of appreciation given to him.
Yup. When I tell my dog, Squirt, this - she is not going to understand it at all. She'll say, 'lazy humans', and wag her tail anyway.
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That was the note. I hope that Dave and my mentor-friend do not mind this post.
