All tagged emotions
Have you ever written a letter in hopes that the recipient would change some sort of behavior? Or have you written a letter in order to influence something greater than what is in your control? How about a letter to express your feelings? Maybe you’ve written a letter to clarify something that might have been misunderstood. It’s possible that you wrote a letter just to check in with someone, telling them what you’re up to and asking questions about what they’re up to.
Humans have an intrinsic desire to help others. No matter how small or large the contribution - in the form of time, energy, talent and/or financially - when we help others, it makes us feel good. Simply put: we volunteer because we hope that our help will help. Inevitably, we walk away feeling like we’re the ones who benefitted from the experience.
When we were deciding what to get my mom for her birthday, both of my kids gave me many ideas. I told them that when I was packing up to move, I noticed that their grandmother treasured their gifts so much that she never even used anything. Including a daily Jeopardy! calendar that was still in the packaging and the years is more than half way over! I told my kids that my mom had plenty of great things from them and so sending something that can not be bought in a store would be best.
As Father’s Day approaches, one of my besties, Reena, is preparing for her father to die soon. I have been listening to her as she shares very condensed versions of what she has been going thru. There are necessary steps, paperwork and procedures that must be taken care of and on top of that, she is coordinating “last” visits with her father’s community of friends. Reena sums it up by saying that it reminds her of planning a wedding.
Besides flowers being considered a gesture of love and care, they represent beauty and remind us of hope. Think of all the occasions that flowers are a part of - weddings, funerals, births, dinner parties, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Spring, tea parties, Thanksgiving etc. Not to mention the scents of flowers are so naturally intoxicating. As obvious as it may seem that flowers can set the tone for any event, to me, the mystery about flowers has always been in floral designs. I know nothing about which flowers go well together and which certain positions of the flowers look pleasing to the eye. People, professional or layman, who know how to arrange flowers in a way that can make us feel certain emotions should be celebrated.
I have this feeling. So far, during this holiday season, I can’t decipher if it’s a feeling of guilt, anxiety or envy. Just so you know, I’m not looking for solutions. More importantly, I am not offering any solutions either. What I am looking for are awareness and validation. Let’s break it down.
