Some great words from one of my favorite writers, Paulo Coelho.
Avoid those who believe they are stronger than you, because they are actually concealing their own fragility.
Stay close to those who are not afraid to be vulnerable, because they have confidence in themselves and know that, at some point in our lives, we all stumble; they do not interpret this as a sign of weakness, but of humanity.
Avoid those who seek friends in order to maintain a certain social status or to open doors they would not otherwise be able to approach.
Stay close to those who are interested in opening only one important door: the door to your heart. They will never invade your soul without your consent or shoot a deadly arrow through that open door.
Friendship is like a river; it flows around rocks, adapts itself to valleys and mountains, occasionally turns into a pool until the hollow in the ground is full and it can continue on its way.
Just as the river never forgets that it’s goal is the sea, so friendship never forgets that its only reason for existing is to love other people
This is a quote that comes in many shapes. I’ve heard it in my professional carrier as “Where your mind goes, your energy flows”, but I guess this one is a more private one. Anyhow, I think that there is a lot of truth in these simple words.
Life is, at least for me, in many ways is about finding ways to appreciate what every moment means. I think that the hard days truly serves a purpose to keep us from being blasé, when we have the really good ones.
This is a story on that subject; the thin line of being “happy” and being “sad”. There is a cliche in Sweden, that everything is best when it’s “lagom” (a Swedish word for “not to much”, and “not to less”) and maybe happiness is just that; lagom?
I wish you enough
At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane’s departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, “I love you, I wish you enough.”
She said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.” They kissed good-bye and she left.
He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?” “Yes, I have,” I replied.
Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man was experiencing.
“Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?” I asked.
“I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral, ” he said.
“When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?”
He began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more.
“When we said ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them,” he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Good-bye.”
For a long time I’ve been thinking about the word “goodness”.
If you’re looking on a regular Facebook-feed, or other social media you’ll find a number of people telling others about their good deeds, and actually that’s wonderful! Don’t doubt that! We really need good deeds, and we really need good role models!
But a good deed, in my mind, isn’t necessarily a sign of a good person.
Why?
A good deed done in public, is always good (don’t doubt that), but a good deed done in public also has the purpose of giving credit to the person who made it.
So, in that sense, will a truly good person be?
“A person who do great things for others, while no-one else is watching”?
This may be one of the most touching videos I’ve seen in a while. A dad looses his wife due to C-surgery, and during the last days of the son’s life he keeps playing the guitar for his son.
Full description under the Youtube-clip.
“Chris Picco singing Blackbird to his son, Lennon James Picco, who was delivered by emergency C-section at 24 weeks when Chris’ wife Ashley unexpectedly and tragically passed away in her sleep. Lennon’s lack of movement and brain activity was a constant concern for the doctors and nurses at Loma Linda University Hospital, where he received the absolute best care available. During the pregnancy, Ashley would often feel Lennon moving to music so Chris asked if he could bring his guitar into the NICU and play for Lennon, which he did for several hours during the last days of Lennon’s precious life. One day after filming this, Lennon went to sleep in his daddy’s arms.”
In larger cities people get used to being “alone”, while we’re in public. But what would happen if someone broke that barrier, and started to dance? Great social experiment, and a video that suits perfect as a start of the week. Wouldn’t it be great if we started to notice each other, and one’s in a while shared some thoughts, on our way to work, school, shop and so on?
Saarimner.com 