GR8FL FOR THE LUNCH

So... I had this blog written, complete with an angry cloud picture and lots of exclamation marks. It was a rant I had written while feeling... well, frustrated. I didn't post it.  Instead I will post this one... which lends itself to a more positive proposal.

Today I called a colleague (who has become a good friend) regarding a work issue, and after it was dealt with we went into our usual silly, witty banter.  He then suggested we have lunch today.  I had an appointment in the afternoon so I didn't really plan on taking a full lunch today.  He was busy the rest of the week so we agreed that next week might be better.  1 1/2 hours later he called again and said - "Let's just go today." I felt like, yeah... today is right. So we went, and it was probably one of the best lunches I've had in a long time. It wasn't the deliciously healthy food we ate or the fact that we sat outside on what turned out to be a lovely sunny day.  It wasn't even the fact that this lunch would mean even more time away from my desk, computer, phone and work. We just had one of those very simple and profound conversations that was incredibly timely for me. He was telling me a story about his recent vacation and it segued into a story about an incident that occurred with an old friend of his.  My hair stood on end while he was talking. Little light bulbs went on and the anonymous chorus started to sing. His story hit home.  If that weren't enough, he then proceeded to remind me of the a very important  - probably the most important  - virtue there is: Gratitude. Simply being grateful... for everything and everyone in your life.  It is an effortless practice that reaps great rewards.

I searched the internet for a quote from a book I remembered reading once and sent it to him with a thank you for reminding me of it:



“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Thanks, Dan.