I think we are all guilty of it.  Waiting.  
Waiting for whatever it is we think is supposed to happen before we can start living the life we want, the life we think we should be living.
I feel like I talk about this a lot, but again this week I have been forced to take another look at  life and how completely fragile it can be.
Another plane crash, 150 lives ended.  It seems to happen so often that sometimes I wonder if we really think about it anymore.  Sure, we are sorry for the victims and their families, but do we ever really stop and put ourselves in that situation. Maybe I think about it more than most, I don't know, but after hearing the news, I thought about those people on the plane, those families left behind.  Much like the people who died in 9/11.  I think about how those people got up in the morning, brushed their teeth, drank their coffee, ironed their clothes, said goodbye to their families and went on their way like it was any other normal day.  That is where I find some of the most sadness.  Unsuspecting.  Taken.
A friend of mine lost his beautiful wife this week at the age of 48, sudden, shocking, sad.
But in all this sadness, there are lessons.  
Lessons on living.
When I flew for work, I had a ritual, which I still do whenever I fly. When I sat down on the plane and buckled my seatbelt, I would close my eyes and say a quick prayer for safe travels and then I would ask myself a question.  "Am I happy?"  Many times I wasn't happy to be on another plane to another place, but in my life  I was happy knowing that if I never saw any of my loved ones again, that they knew I loved them and that I felt like I was living the best life I could live.  It's the question you should ask yourself, but more importantly, you should answer....truthfully.
I know a lot of people who are waiting.  Waiting to make more money, waiting for vacation, waiting for Friday, waiting until they have a better job, waiting for the right person in their life, waiting, waiting and more waiting.   If they all keep waiting, they will have waited their life away...it passes so quickly, there is NO TIME TO WAIT.   Live the life you are proud of, that you enjoy.  Tell people what they mean to you. Give of yourself.  Take vacations.  Go out to dinner.   Use the good china.  Grow a garden.  Call someone and tell them how special they are.  Put down your phone and be in the moment with the people around you. Say YES. Stop waiting. START LIVING before it's too late. There is no better day than today. So get started.
God Bless
xo
Greg

If you've ever watched "Ellen", you know she ends every show by saying "Be Kind to One Another".  It seems like a simple concept.  Just BE kind.  I would guess that most of us would say that we are kind to others...but are we really?  Are we kind to only SOME people?  Are we really, truly kind to everyone we come in contact with?  
I'm the first to admit I'm not always kind.  I don't think I intentionally go out of my way to be unkind, but I know I have my faults.  I have thoughts and opinions that may seem unkind, but I am human and the idea of never having an unkind thought goes against human nature.
What I don't understand is why, as human beings, we love to point out others faults in such unkind ways.  (Shawn will be happy to attest to the rants I have subjected him to regarding this very subject).
Social Media and the Internet make it so easy to point out the perceived flaws of anything or anyone.  I first started recognizing how unkind people can be when I happened upon a "live tweet" of a random television performance.  As I read the criticism of every aspect of the show, I couldn't help but wonder why the person was wasting their time even watching the show in the first place if it's really that bad.  More importantly, why did they feel empowered to be the judge of the show?   Recently, I watched the Oscars and found people tweeting complaints about how long the show was running and when would it be over?  Here's a novel idea, CHANGE THE CHANNEL!  GO TO BED!  STOP COMPLAINING!
The Superbowl Half-time Show wasn't even over and people were weighing in on Katy Perry's performance.  It's easy to say that people who are celebrities put themselves out there to be criticized....true, but it doesn't automatically elevate the entire universe to the position of almighty judge.  Think about this....what if someone followed you around from the moment you arose, bed head and all and live tweeted every aspect of your day?  Not such a pretty vision is it?  But I bet you would only want them to be kind.
Don't get me wrong, I think everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  But wouldn't a simple "it wasn't for me" be a kinder way to express your opinion, or how about adhering to your mother's advice and if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.

I know that changing your thoughts and actions is hard.  As my "Words to Live By" this week says...."the best way to get something done is to BEGIN".  So just BEGIN to try and be more understanding, to see someone else's side of the story, to stop judging, to stop complaining, to start living YOUR OWN LIFE, to try and just BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER.
XO
G