Own the Miracle
The Improbability of Our Existence “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Anonymous Have you [...]
A good friend of mine, Edie Varley, once wrote that you spell love T-I-M-E. In the midst of raising four kids and coordinating a busy travel and speaking schedule though, it's sometimes hard to find time for each other.
So heeding the wisdom from Edie, I took the opportunity this weekend to enjoy three kid-free days in California with my favorite travel partner, Beth. The time away allowed us to relax, re-energize, and most importantly, to reconnect.
My friends, whether you are poolside in Palm Springs or sitting on the front porch at home, my encouragement to you is this: don't forget to slow down and spend some quality T-I-M-E with the ones who matter most!
Today is your day. Live Inspired.
Good Morning Friends,
It was about to happen.
After lots of planning and working more than two years with no vacation, I was going on a once-in-a-lifetime, ten-day trip to northern Europe. My sister, Susan, who had recently graduated college and was about start her career in Chicago, was going with me.
Our bags were packed, the tickets purchased, and the hotel rooms secured. The anticipation was high as we counted down the days until we departed: September 14, 2001.
But just a few days before our planned departure, the entire world changed.
In the days following the attacks of 9/11, we learned of a terrorist group very few of us had ever even heard of. We watched nightly, the agonizing stories of those who had lost their lives – and the incredible heroes who had given everything so that others’ lives might be saved. And we heard the drums of war that would soon ensnarl our nation and the world and that continue to dramatically shape lives and global events today.
As a nation, we weren’t sure how to return to normal – or if we really ever would. In our papers and on the news stations, there were continuous images of planes disappearing into buildings, city blocks of rubble smoldering, family members holding pictures of their missing loved ones, and search crews working around the clock.
There was also the very real concern that more attacks were imminent. In the days following September 11th, rumors suggested that other hijackings and attacks were planned. All high-risk targets like government buildings, nuclear power plants, and water treatment facilities were protected. Military planes patrolled the skies around the clock. All commercial flights were grounded, and all public concerts and sporting events were cancelled.
The first national sporting event to occur after the attacks took place in my hometown, St. Louis. ESPN broadcasted the momentous occasion, live to a nationwide audience. An audience unsure if it was safe to venture into a packed stadium; unsure if it was appropriate to laugh, cheer, root and begin the painful, but necessary, movement forward.
That day, on an evening we expected to be in Norway, I picked Susan up in an old SUV, drove downtown, and we walked, tepidly into a packed stadium.
The crowded stadium was veiled in sadness and mourning, but it transformed when a group of firefighters, police, and first responders carried a massive flag onto the field. And 50,000 people stood as a pained silence fell over the stadium to honor all those who had lost their lives.
Then, we stood in awe as my lifelong hero, Jack Buck, shuffled onto the field. Jack had been the voice of St. Louis Cardinals baseball for generations, but he also was a veteran of World War II, earning a purple heart. Although he was nearing the end of his own life, battling both cancer and Parkinson’s disease, on this evening, he became the voice of a nation struggling with a sense of hopelessness and fear. This seasoned warrior, voice softened due to health issues, stood resolutely before the stadium and a nation watching at home, and read a poem he’d written.
I don't remember who won the baseball game that night. I don’t recall what Susan and I talked about on the way home. But I do remember the emotion that overcame me as I watched Jack Buck read his poem and shuffle away from the microphone. His words, and example, reminded me that in every generation we gain strength, courage and confidence when we stop to look fear in the face, reminding ourselves we lived through this horror and we can most assuredly take on the next thing that comes along.
It’s easy to see it in our brave firefighters, police officers, first responders and war heroes.
But the sacred opportunity set before each of us daily is to be the example so that others see it in the way we lead, serve, love, and walk forward.
It mattered 17 years ago this month. It matters still today.
This is your day. Live Inspired.
* * * * *
To watch my hero Jack Buck honor the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks with his moving speech and poem, click here: bit.ly/JackBuckSpeech
“I really love you.”
645 this morning.
Boarding a plane.
Still a little foggy.
Long line just to get onto it
Say good morning to the flight attendant.
Her response is above.
My friends, Peggy (my new favorite flight attendant) had recently read On Fire in her book club. She shared it with her husband and it moved them both deeply.
She was incredibly kind the entire flight. She asked a dozen times what more she could do, asked about my family, shared a bit about hers, and made what could have been a very ordinary flight into a very special experience.
The words she greeted with were beautiful... but better yet was witnessing that love in action. Peggy was remarkably kind to me, to the lady sitting next to me (my favorite travel partner: my wife, Beth) and to every passenger with whom she interacted.
My friends, words can be cheap. Anybody can say something - or tweet something - or incite something.
But real love always has less to do with words, and more to do with serving, encouraging, modeling, acting, elevating.
CS Lewis wrote that we should not waste time bothering ‘whether’ we love our neighbor; but to simply act as if we did.
Today, whether serving as a flight attendant or passenger, strive to live into that advice.
This is your day. Live Inspired. J
More than 1,000,000 downloads of the Live Inspired podcast with John Oleary. Join he movement anywhere you listen to podcasts!
The Truth About Mental Health - Live Inspired Podcast Ep. #99
>>> Comic + author Adam Cayton-Holland joins us during Suicide Prevention Month to talk about his new book, Tragedy + Time, a tragi-comic memoir about his sister’s death as a result of suicide.
Adam took pause in his favorite Denver park to join us for this personal conversation. He shares about life, family, comedy, anxiety and how his book helped him process losing his sister. Live inspired and bring mental health into the light, Live Inspired Podcast ep. #99:
iTunes - tinyurl.com/zuyup5e
My website - tinyurl.com/y7akjstq
#suicideprevention #liveinspired #podcast
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
My friends, when you see the picture what do you see? No, not the paper wrapper or dirty tray or back of a seat! But cup of water with a lid and straw.
This picture was taken on my Southwest Airlines flight this evening. The lady to my left ordered a water, too. But she didn’t have a lid. The gentleman across the row had a Bloody Mary (well, several, actually!). None came with a lid. In fact, on a long flight with two rounds of drink service, no one else on the entire plane had a lid. Except me.
Why does that matter?
The flight attendant who served the drink was the same one who greeted me with a big smile when I boarded. He’s also the one who, after seeing my hands, asked if he could help with my bag. (No thanks. I got it!)
But when it came around to serving water he wanted to serve me in the best way he felt he could. No comment was made. No attention was sought. He wasn’t trying to make me feel less-than ... or make himself feel greater-than. He just wanted to quietly make a difference for one of his passengers.
My Friends, it turns out that the little things in life, aren’t.
Although I don’t typically use lids or straws, this weary traveler has a little more pace in his step tonight because of the care revealed by someone else.
And in a culture too frequently transfixed on the things that don’t really matter or the events that seem all bad, be reminded of the good that’s all around us .... and the potential we all have to reveal that truth to a world thirsting for it.
This is your night. Sip it down. And Live Inspired. J
For more inspiration, join nearly 1,000,000 friends who have downloaded the Live Inspired Podcast: www.JohnOLearyInspires.com/Podcast