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Today's
Meditation:
Why
are other people here? Why are we not alone in this
world? Even though we sometimes may feel lonely and
isolated, the fact is that there are many, many other
people with us on this planet who have the ability--and
desire--to see us do well, succeed, be the best
people we can be. These are the people who try to
encourage us when we're down, who try to build us up when
things aren't going well, who try to help us to keep our
flames burning bright even in the darkest hours.
Albert
says that we owe our "deepest thanks" to these
people, and I agree with him. I know that in my
life, there have been plenty of times when an encouraging
and uplifting word from someone who cared has made a huge
difference in how I've seen life at a given time.
Instead of going deeper into despair or hopelessness or
even depression, I've been encouraged by these people who have given me a spark that
has allowed me to rekindle the flame of hope, to relight
my own light that had been growing steadily dimmer.
If
we acknowledge our debt to these people--no matter who
they are and no matter how small their contribution to our
live might seem--we start to see the importance of their
actions in our lives. And then we have to ask
ourselves if we can pass on their kindnesses, if we can
provide that kind of spark to someone else who's in
need. I know that doing this will be the greatest
way possible to repay these people and their kindnesses,
and I know that they would feel tremendously gratified to
know that their positive contribution to my life led to my
positive contributions to the lives of others.
I
often think of how others have encouraged me when I try to
encourage others. I try to remember how I felt when
I needed encouragement when I try to recognize just who
could use some encouragement. My deepest thanks go
out to the people who have taught me such an important
lesson, and my hope is that I can repay them by passing on
their teachings.
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