A Matter of Balance: A Woman's Quest for Health, Harmony & Kick-ass Heels


Thursday, May 24, 2012

Simply The Best

Image from etsy

Tina Turner's sultry voice comes to mind, belting it out when I read the title of this post, but that's not what I'm thinking of this morning. 

I've been reading Shortcuts to Inner Peace: 70 Simple Paths to Everyday Serenity by Ashley Davis Bush and I really love the short simplistic strategies she offers to create more peace in your day. I aim to read something inspirational each day and this year this book really hits the mark.

Today's chapter was focused on the often mindless greeting and response we engage in multiple times la day...."How are you? I'm fine."

Perfunctory yet meaningless.

Although what she doesn't mention is the category of folks who respond with a litany of their aches and pains, trials and tribulations. Clearly they want you to know they are far from fine.
One of the first things that stood out when I met one of my dearest friends, Duffy, was that anytime anyone asked him how he was he would respond "The BEST!". Seriously, I thought? Can anyone really be in that good of a mood all the time? Besides, he certainly had more than his share of baggage, and from my view there was a lot he COULD complain about.

But he never did.

Even as he battled cancer, a fight he eventually lost in 1996, he continued to see the proverbial glass half full, in fact, in his case, he always saw it overflowing.

I remember attending his wake and listening to the conversations around me. (I think the entire state of Rhode Island was there, he was just that kind of guy). Whatever the memories, someone undoubtedly mentioned that Duffy really was the BEST. Perhaps in a lifetime of declaring it to himself, he convinced us all.

I was reminded of him  yesterday while working at the Soup Kitchen.   I encountered one diner who when I asked how he was, he exclaimed "Blessed!".  Nice! 
 
Hmm, now to choose, should I be Blessed today or The Best?  Or maybe both?

How are YOU today?

Magnificent? Amazing? Outstanding? Blessed? The Best?

The beauty is, YOU get to decide.

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