I just watched an old movie "Green card" about an American woman who wanted a green house in New York and a Frenchman who wanted a green card. They married,so they could both get what they wanted and went about their merry lives until the Immigration department ran tabs on them. They spent 4 days studying each other in order to pass the test to be given them in separate rooms.
They began as strangers, neither one liking the other. Through the intense studying of each other; their likes, dislikes, beliefs, foods, habits, etc. They fell in love.
Isn't this what we are called to do when we are told to love our neighbor. Take the time to know them, not just a passing wave or a random, chance meeting while watering the lawn.
It is amazing the magic that happens when we take the time to seek our common grounds, to honor and respect our differences, to know some one's history.
I realize that this is just a movie, but in my life I have had many a changed perspective about a person when I have taken the time to really know them. I guess we must be motivated to really want something to give our time to someone else.
Where are you spending your time, that might tell you what you are really wanting.
©oneness of life productions 9/2010
Showing posts with label time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label time. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Being Forgotten
In reading Have a little faith by Mitch Albom, Mitch asks his dying rabbi what most people fear most about death. The rabbi answers, "Well, for one thing, what happens next?" He goes on to say that the biggest fear is, "being forgotten."
The rabbi refers to this as the second death. "The unvisited nursing homes. The homeless found frozen in alleys. Who mourned their passing? Who marked their time on earth?" (pg. 127).
This little conversation got my attention, especially at this time in my life, as I visit my dad in a memory-care facility. I notice all of the elderly whom have been forgotten and remember the lady who recently went out to watch the night sky and to rock only to freeze to death. I watch my dad struggle with acceptance that he is old just like the people around him. It is difficult to watch and to absorb that the man who was my rock is withering.
In reading this little story, I am awakened to the preciousness of time and how fast it flies past. I realize the importance of inter-personal relationships which is what my dad tells me daily. Becky, "Life has meaning, and its lasting meaning is in interpersonal relationships. Nothing else matters." What a powerful message to heed.
We spend and waste so much time chasing things, positions, accolades, and playing with gadgets that we forget to nurture and foster relationships. As we age, it sometimes becomes too late and we end our lives alone.
Take time for dinner with friends and family, go to the park with your kids, grand kids, nieces or nephews, adopt an elder or a child who has no one, do something to reach out your hand to another human being. Make creating and building relationships you lifes work. In so doing, you and they will be remembered.
The rabbi refers to this as the second death. "The unvisited nursing homes. The homeless found frozen in alleys. Who mourned their passing? Who marked their time on earth?" (pg. 127).
This little conversation got my attention, especially at this time in my life, as I visit my dad in a memory-care facility. I notice all of the elderly whom have been forgotten and remember the lady who recently went out to watch the night sky and to rock only to freeze to death. I watch my dad struggle with acceptance that he is old just like the people around him. It is difficult to watch and to absorb that the man who was my rock is withering.
In reading this little story, I am awakened to the preciousness of time and how fast it flies past. I realize the importance of inter-personal relationships which is what my dad tells me daily. Becky, "Life has meaning, and its lasting meaning is in interpersonal relationships. Nothing else matters." What a powerful message to heed.
We spend and waste so much time chasing things, positions, accolades, and playing with gadgets that we forget to nurture and foster relationships. As we age, it sometimes becomes too late and we end our lives alone.
Take time for dinner with friends and family, go to the park with your kids, grand kids, nieces or nephews, adopt an elder or a child who has no one, do something to reach out your hand to another human being. Make creating and building relationships you lifes work. In so doing, you and they will be remembered.
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