09/08/2022
🌹❣💔🙏💔❣🌹
If you have not heard, Queen Elizabeth died today. When she was born, she was a royal but was not slated to be Queen. When her Grandfather died; her uncle was supposed to take the throne but he abdicated because he would not be allowed to marry the love of his life. Queen Elizabeth’s father (2nd son) became King and the trajectory of Queen Elizabeth’s life changed dramatically. On her 21st birthday, Princess Elizabeth broadcast a pledge to the British Empire “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service, and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” That is what she did. She lived a very long life of service. My heart goes out to the Royal Family and to all of the British Empire. She was Queen for 70 years, there will be a lot of change for everyone.
Living a life of service is a noble pursuit. There are a lot of people who live a life of service even if they are not royal. Teachers, First Responders, Clergy, Medical Professionals, Legal Professionals, Customer Service Professionals, Housekeepers, Bus Drivers, Parents, Adult Children. Nearly everybody lives some percentage of their life in service to others. Some live a bigger percentage of their life in service, some embrace it more than others. Some days it is easier to be of service than others and we just do the best we can at that time. There are others that try to skip that part of their life.
When COVID hit, I saw compassion come back for a lot of people. I saw people asking their neighbors if they needed something from the grocery store because they were going and were healthier than others. People were protecting the more fragile folks surrounding. As the pandemic continued and we started experiencing shortages (remember toilet paper?) A lot of folks slipped into survival mode. We saw riots and looting. We saw a lot of people panic buying. I remember there was a story about a couple in Arizona who went to the grocery store and bought all the meat, rented a storage locker and freezers. Their intent was not to feed themselves or their families. Their intent was to jack up the price of the meat and sell it back to their neighbors and make a huge profit. They were arrested for fraud. The judge who heard their case offered them two options – they could donate all of the meat to the local food banks or they could go to jail. Was this an urban legend? I don’t know but it certainly was a topical story.
I am seeing stories in the news right now that 2023 is supposed to remain difficult. Finances are chaotic right now. Inflation is skyrocketing. We have had droughts in many areas that are affecting the harvest of crops. With the rising price of gas, shipping of products becomes more expensive. I am not trying to play Chicken Little running around saying the sky is falling. But life is never going to go back to 2019, just like it never went back to 2000 after 9/11. Now is the time to be a little more proactive regarding how we plan to live through all the changes that have been brought to us the last couple of years. I think that if we focus more on how we can be of service in small ways to each other; if we work together instead of against each other for personal profit; not only will we be more successful, we will be happier and like each other and ourselves a little bit more. I know that when I can help out someone else, I feel better about myself. It is like Mr. Rogers said – Look for the helpers. I will take it a step further – Be a helper. Live a life of service.
Today’s gratitude is from me. I am grateful for all those who live a life of service, who are helpers. Whether you are helping me or others or allowing others to help you; I see and appreciate you. You are making life better and happier. Thank you.
Be Safe. Be Well. Be Happy.
