I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving! As I have written on all of my Thanksgiving blogs, this is my favorite holiday of the year. And even though we had not grandiose plans this year it still was one of my favorite days of the year.
It really doesn’t matter what political party you follow or religious affiliation you worship, Thanksgiving works for everyone. A wonderful day to relax, reflect and give thanks to all of the blessings one has in their life….and I have many!
First and foremost I love my wife, daughters and family. We had a nice quiet and restful Thanksgiving this year and my mom and Isabel’s mom did all the cooking this year so Isabel and I were able to really relax – and boy we needed it. We are so busy and getting as much done as we can before we head to Italy for Christmas and New Years!
So with some time to reflect I want to thank all of my amazing clients and friends and fortunately in my case, many are one in the same. With the ISIS attacks in Europe and across the world this month it was so nice to watch the Macy’s Parade and posts and texts from my clients at the parade and see America and what we all stand for in its full glory. All religions, nationalities, and colors represented. As I get older there are many Thanksgivings to look back upon and so you realize how special every moment is and how special the simple things in life are. I think we all suffer from the delusion that we will somehow live for ever but the fact is we won’t and we can all live our lives in fear and avoid traveling and living in isolation to avoid danger but something is going to end your life at some undefined point so why not live life to it’s fullest.
I encourage us all to just go for it and not succumb to the fear that groups like ISIS want to instill in us. I think events like this are a wake up call to all of us for sure and that despite our best efforts to delay the inevitability of death it will one day come and the older you get the less time you have to experience this amazing world. What are we all waiting for??? Ok at the risk of being morbid there are two outcomes in your life….you are either going to do everything you can to live to 90 or 100 if you are lucky and you will be rewarded with watching all of your friends and family die along the way….and in the end you are still going to die. Or you will die before your time and likely that will be due to some unforeseen or tragic event or illness….in the end you still die!
My point is there is no escape – period! So again, what are you waiting for??? We all need to stop waiting for the opportune time to travel, to experience life, to build that dream home, to make a difference in the world. What is great is I am seeing it and hearing it from my clients. I really think these recent events will actually have the opposite effect these horrific groups are looking for. People will stand up and will not accept fear nor tolerate the evil. Yes, we can all point fingers and try to place blame on how ISIS even came into existence, but it doesn’t matter….evil, darkness, and destruction will always be here. If not ISIS it would be something else. Kindness, goodness, creativity, love and light also will always exist and you must choose to make a difference in which will override the other. Doing nothing is a waste of what time you do have.
We are currently working on some amazing projects aimed at helping others that originated with one client’s dream or vision and like the ripple in the water that, as I wrote about a couple blogs ago, its off and soon turns into a tsunami. Again, its the small things done collectively that make a big difference.
So live your life to the fullest, share light, goodness, and kindness which many of you do every day! Don’t give in – keep it going and step it up. Those of you that are just watching the news and hiding in your homes get out and live life! And by the way, we are NOT cancelling our family trip to Italy for the holidays and we will be posting from St. Peter’s on Christmas Day and Florence on New Year’s Eve!
