“Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie
“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” – Malala Yousafzai
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand. Most people listen with the intent to reply.” – Stephen R. Covey
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” – Albert Einstein
“The reason why we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” – Steven Furtick
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
“We judge ourselves by our intentions. And others by their actions.” – Stephen R. Covey
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” – Mary Engelbreit
“We choose to go to the moon and do these other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” – Unknown
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — either way you’re right.” – Henry Ford
“Challenges is what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine
“I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. That is when I start counting, because then it really counts. That’s what makes you a champion.” – Muhammad Ali
“True success is overcoming the fear of being unsuccessful.” – Paul Sweeney
“Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
I just saw the article below and it made me think of a talk I gave at a Toastmasters meeting many years ago, titled, “Tell Them You Love Them.”
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.”
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my mother, who had been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my 3 children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.
“What’s wrong, are you well?” she asked. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
“I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of us.”
She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I would like that very much.”
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited at the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an Angel’s. “I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,” she said, as she got into the car. “They can’t wait to hear about our meeting.”
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.
After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Halfway through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. “It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,” she said. “Then it’s time that you relax and let me return the favor,” I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation — nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events in each other’s life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.
“How was your dinner date?” Asked my wife when I got home.
“Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,” I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do anything for her. Sometime later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place where mother and I had dined.
An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I wasn’t sure that I could be there; nevertheless, I paid for two plates — one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me.” “I love you, son.”
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: “I love you,” and giving our loved ones the time that they deserve.
Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till “some other time.”
