In our busy lives we can lose touch of what is important as we focus on the immediate. I love this section from a book my sister is reading. It should be read slowly.
“It all matters. That someone turns out the lamp, picks up the wind blown wrapper, says hello to the invalid, pays at the unattended lot, listens to the repeated tale, folds the abandoned laundry, plays the game fairly, tells the story honestly, acknowledges help, gives credit, says good night, resists temptation, wipes the counter, waits at the yellow, makes the bed, tips the maid, remembers the illness, congratulates that victor, accepts the consequences, takes a stand, steps up, offers a hand, goes first, goes last, chooses the small portion, teaches the child, tends to the dying, comforts the grieving, removes the splinter, wipes the tear, directs the lost, touches the lonely, is the whole thing. What is most beautiful, is least acknowledged. What is worth dying for, is barely noticed.”
“We say ‘thank you very much’ and ‘I so appreciate what you have done’ to people who fill our grocery bags, to people who offer us a ride across town. What are the words to say to someone who gave you back your life, who believed that you still had a soul, who acknowledged how bad it is possible to feel? Shouldn’t there be another language for this? Different words altogether?”
This quote is from the novel, We Are Called To Rise by Laura McBride.