First off, thank you for your patience during the past few months as I navigated an exciting and transformative time. I was deeply involved in negotiations to sell the publishing and marketing company I founded back in 2004. While the sale ultimately didn’t go through, it gave me a renewed vision and passion for the company’s future, and I’m excited to move forward with fresh energy and purpose.
If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that things don’t always go the way you plan. When circumstances happen that require a course correction, you have to be willing to adapt, and in the end, if you have the right perspective, you will usually see that things work out for the best – or at the very least, you learn how to make the best of the circumstances – making lemonade out of your proverbial lemon.
The other day, I woke up thinking about finding a rare, beautiful, and highly prized black pearl mired in the blubbery mass of a raw oyster. The imagery was not lost on me. Sometimes we find our greatest treasure in the midst of wrestling with or working through our greatest difficulty or pain.
This, of course, is not a new or novel concept – just one that seems particularly relevant to me right now.
What challenges are you facing right now? Keep your eyes open for those “pearls” of unexpected benefit and blessing.
On another subject, I’m sure you are mentally starting to shift gears into “Holiday Mode,” thinking about next week’s Thanksgiving festivities, eating way too much, and celebrating with family and friends who bring you joy. And barely before the Alka-Seltzer kicks in from eating one too many slices of pumpkin pie, you start pondering putting up the Christmas lights, whether your tree this year will be real or fake, and how you are going to find time to research and order online gifts for all the people on your Christmas list.
But in the midst of all the craziness – both the fun crazy and the stressful crazy – remember to PAUSE, take a DEEP BREATH, and be GRATEFUL for who you are, who you know, and what you have. Look for the joy and pleasure in the small moments, the simple things that make your life rich.
Just this morning, I attended a preschool program where two of my grandchildren, each just two years old, were paraded up front to the small platform about ten feet in front of me, where, along with their classmates, they were supposed to sing a couple of cute Thanksgiving songs. Naturally, both my grandkids just stood there staring – not uttering a sound. But it didn’t matter to me. They were clearly the cutest kids on the stage. 😊 At least, that’s the way I saw it. It was one of those simple moments of blessing. Nothing earth-shattering. It just reminded me to be grateful, to be thankful for my family.
So each day, look for those small and simple reasons to be thankful, to be grateful, and to allow your heart and mind to be filled with a quiet joy. Celebrate those “pearls” in your life.
