You're the Inspiration!

Obviously....80s ballads have been in my head recently...be expecting more blog post titles such as this.
I wanted to share with you an article that was brought to my attention today. It was from my friend's (Lauren) blog. It is one of my favorite blogs because Lauren is such a passionate and open person. Lauren is also, incidentally, the sister of one of my very dearest and best friends since the 6th grade. Six years ago, their father passed away. It was honestly one of the hardest times in my life seeing people I cared about suffer that much. She posted an article one of her dad's friends posted upon hearing his passing....it is beautiful. The article can be found here. Even if you didn't know Jack, you should read it as a reminder on the value of life and security. Seriously...read it, then read the rest of this post.
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did you read it yet? Good. Because it sent my brain spinning. I was thinking about all I do working in fundraising for a nonprofit. If someone gives us the slightest gift I send out a thank you note, a tax receipt, a tax statement in January, depending on the donation we might give a personal phone call, or vouchers to our concert. For people with long term connections with the symphony we invite them to parties, heed to their requests, make a toast in their honor (just because) and label them as our organization's VIPs. It got me wondering why I don't do that in my life? Don't get me wrong, I think I'm a pretty darn good friend...but why don't I do more of the "just because I appreciate you" things? I think things overall in the world have become pretty superficial and gifts are given because you "have" to or you're trying to present yourself in a certain way...whatever happened to giving gifts to honor the people you care about? Anyway, I'll stop rambling and list yet ANOTHER resolution I want to add to my life this year

5. Appreciate the little things.


Those were just some images of simple and pure love. They make me smile :) I plan to achieve this goal by starting out small. I'm going to Target today to buy two sets of note cards: 1. that says "Thank You" and another that says "Happy Birthday." I'm really great at remembering people's birthdays. So I'm going to start remember to send simple birthday cards and simple thank you cards. They only take, what...5 minutes max?? Plus don't they make you're day when people think of you? Anyway...done. That's my start. I'll work on progression and keep you updated :) Happy Tuesday!

closing thought: As August Boatwright says in The Secret Life of Bees, “Some things don't matter much. Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart--now, that matters. The whole problem with people is...they know what matters, but they don't choose it...The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters.”

All Images found here.