12-21-2018

Mary’s Minute

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

                                                                 ~ Charles Dickens

Christmas, and the holiday season in general, is not a day but a feeling.  Whether or not you celebrate Christmas a religious holiday or not, it still represents a season of love and giving. 

The simplest way that I can describe the feeling of Christmas for me is love.  Giving of gifts is not about the material item, but about giving to people for whom we care. Sharing a meal is not simply about indulging in delicious food, but about sharing time with people who are special to us.

There may be things in our life that are challenging or situations that make us sad, but this time of year, we can find joy. 

Yesterday, Tara and I had lunch with Pat and Sheila Clark, who have endured much sadness.  Yet, Pat and Sheila find joy in living and giving.   

This time of year, we are quick to offer a greeting of “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” to strangers.  There is love in our hearts and our voices.

My hope is that the love that we feel this season can stay with you throughout the entire year!

                                           Christmas love to you all!

                                                                          Mary

12-14-2018

Mary’s Minute

“Deliberately seek opportunities for kindness, sympathy, and patience.”

                                            ~ Evelyn Underhill                                                                                        

In today’s world, we all have been faced with talking to an automated service, “For English press or say one.”  It usually begins with simple enough questions, but can quickly progress to pure frustration for me.  I have found myself almost screaming, “I want to speak to a representative!”  My voice gets louder and more frustrated with each automated response, “I don’t understand; please restate the reason for your call.”  

Recently I have made a conscious effort to be more calm and kind to automated services.  I know that a computer doesn’t have feelings, but I have decided that for my own sake I want to practice kindness.  I have started saying “please” and “thank you” to a computerized voice. What I realized is that by being patient, soft spoken, and polite, regardless of the circumstances, I feel better myself. An added benefit is that I get practice in an important skill.

I want to be more kind, sympathetic, and patient to people because I want them to feel loved and cared for, but I also know that being kind makes the person offering kindness feel better. I need to do all I can to practice the important skill! “I will connect you to a representative now.”

                                       Have a great week! 

                                                    Mary

12-7-2018

Mary’s Minute

“There are more honest people and more good people than there are thieves and bad people. It's just always been that way.”  

                                                        ~ Michael Nesmith

This quote precisely sums up the story I wanted to share this week.  At the end of my somewhat hectic story, I was left with a feeling that there is more good (much more good) than bad in the world! 

Last week I was at a conference in Indianapolis and during a reception staged in an open lobby area of the Westin I hung my coat on the rack provided.  I left the reception, leaving my coat behind for another meeting in the same hotel.  When I received a fraud alert that my credit card that I left in the coat pocket, along with my driver’s license and a little cash, was being used, I rushed to the coat rack to find my coat and its contents gone. 

The Westin front desk clerk, Cooper, quickly involved the security supervisor, who started watching surveillance video.  In the meantime I Ubered to my hotel to avoid the cold without my coat.  (Sidebar – I Pricelined and stayed at a different hotel to save $$.)  About an hour later I received a call from Justin who told me he had good news and bad news.  He had recovered my coat, but not the contents.  I had already cancelled my credit card and knew I could easily get a replacement license, so I wasn’t disappointed.  The great part of the story is that Justin tracked down the people who took my coat (found them swimming in the hotel pool) with the woman in the group wearing my coat!  It gets even better – Cooper, the desk clerk, delivered my coat to me!  I was overwhelmed by their good, which for me far out-weighed the negativity of losing my cc and license. 

This story is not about a cold night in Indy, but about all the good there is in the world.  We may get discouraged when we watch the news, with our jobs, or with the students in our classrooms, but when we look around, we know that there is much, much more good than bad.  I want to focus on the good! 

                                                         Have a great week!

                                                                          Mary