THE DAILY SPARK

“People don’t talk about the soul very much anymore.  It’s much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit.  But a resume is cold comfort on a winter night, or when you’re sad or broke, or lonely or when you’ve gotten back the chest X-ray and it doesn’t look good…

Here’s my resume:  It’s not what my professional bio says, proud as I am of all that:

I’m a good mother to three good children.  I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.  I no longer consider myself the center of the universe.  I show up.  I listen.  I try to laugh.

I am a good friend to my husband.  I have tried to make my marriage vows mean what they say.  I show up .  I listen.  I try to laugh. 

I’m a good friend to my friends, and they to me.  Without them I would have nothing of interest to say to anyone, because I would be a cardboard cutout.  But I call them on the phone and I meet them for lunch.  I show up.  I listen.  I try to laugh.

You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are. 

So, I suppose the best piece of advice I could give anyone is pretty simple:  get a life.  A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house. Do you think you’d care so very much about those things if you developed an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast while in the shower? 

Get a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over a pond and a stand of pines.  Get a life in which you pay attention to the baby as she scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger. 

Turn off your cell phone..  Keep still.  Be present.

Get a life in which you are not alone.  Find people you love, and who love you.”