Message from the President
Greetings friend, and welcome to the September Comfort Connection!
Who would have thought 18 months ago we would be where we are today? I’m sure we thought this COVID phenomenon would all blow over within a few months, or at the most a year! It hasn’t blown over, and if you look in deep, dark places, this new reality can be downright frightening. BUT remember, life is 10% circumstances, and 90% attitude!
Life is currently throwing us some real sour lemons. BUT what are we doing with them? I found this little post and wanted to share with you the perspective of an 87-year-old man who doesn’t let the circumstances around him get him down, as told by a younger lady:
Sometimes I just want to stop. Too much talk of COVID, protests, looting, and brutality. I lose my way. I become convinced that this “new normal” is real life.
But, then I meet an 87-year-old who talks of living through Polio, diphtheria, Vietnam, protests, and yet is still enchanted with life. He seemed surprised when I said that 2020 must have been especially challenging for him.
“No,” he said slowly looking me straight in the eyes, “I learned a long time ago to not see the world through the printed headlines, I see the world through the people that surround me. I see the world with the realization that we love big. Therefore, I just choose to write my own headlines: ‘Husband loves wife today.’ ‘Family drops everything to come to Grandma’s bedside.’” He patted my hand, “‘Old man makes new friend.’”
His words collide with my worries, freeing them from the tether I had been holding tight. They float away. I am left with a renewed spirit. My headline now reads ‘Woman overwhelmed by the spirit of kindness and the reminder that our capacity to love is never ending.’
Can we adopt this beautiful lesson from the wisdom of this 87-year-old man? Can we make our own headlines despite what the printed headlines are saying? How do we keep living without despairing during troubled times? It looks like it's all a matter of perspective.
