October 1, 2012
October is my birthday month but this year instead of waiting until the actual date to celebrate, I’ve decided to do something special every day. The gifts – small gestures and kindnesses - won’t be for me alone. My raison d’etre is to reach out to others – family, friends and even people I don’t know – to share my gratitude and appreciation of life.
I begin today, the first day of the month, by sending a
thank you to you, my readers.
Working as I do from home, my craft is, by choice, a
solitary affair. Rather than be in a
crowded office surrounded by colleagues, I sit alone at the kitchen table tapping
upon a keyboard while birds and butterflies flit by outside. Aside from my husband and editor, I have no
way of knowing who reads my printed words.
Unless contacted by email or phone, I’m unaware of reader feedback.
Fortunately, people do contact me. I offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who
has taken the time to write, call or post a comment online. Whether you agree with my perspectives or
not, I appreciate your input and find your responses reassuring. Your messages, anecdotes and impassioned
comments tell me my words have meaning and perhaps even depth. To me, any indication of your support is a
gift sublime. I thank you for reading my
introspective rambles.
To those of you who read my column but who have not been in
touch, I offer gratitude too. I don’t
write Simply Living pieces expecting comment.
I do it because it’s my passion.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to observe my surroundings and express
those observations in a public way. Additional
input is like frosting on a birthday cake – a sweet and special treat.
Over the next 30 days, I’ll be on a mission to give and
receive sweet expressions of a life appreciated. Despite our diversity, different
circumstances and perspectives, each of us came into this world with one thing
in common – the opportunity to experience life itself. How we go about doing that is an individual’s
choice. I choose to take notice of the
world I inhabit and to try my best to focus on the positive.
Every day we encounter others who make our lives
richer. Small kindnesses and
considerations happen constantly at home, in the checkout line at the store,
when we’re pumping gas or driving through town.
Simple gestures of friendliness and care can be the difference between a
day regretted and one enjoyed. What
better time to pay attention to the little things in life that give us pleasure
than during the month of our birth.
After six decades of traditional birthday celebrations, for
my 61st year, I’m ready for something different. Instead of receiving presents, I want to be
present to the beauty of my surroundings and to the people who make my world a
better place to live.
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