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A Change This Month
This month, you may find this newsletter a little bit shorter than usual. Read on and you’ll understand why...
Remember What Is Most Important
Sometimes we have to re-learn the things we teach to others. This month was a big reminder for me. One of the things I often help people with is getting clear about what is most important in their lives.
I find that most of us spend considerable amount of time doing things that aren’t important. How many times do I check my email every day? Do I get bogged down in details and run out of time to do what really matters? Most of us are so busy with our everyday tasks that we forget what is most important in our lives.
This month I had a serious reminder about what is most important. On Thursday afternoon, April 23rd, I left my office at Hold Your Horses Farm and after running some errands, went home early. O.K., I admit it. I was watching a rerun of the Andy Griffith show. My husband called and asked me, “How soon can you get here?” I didn’t ask questions, just replied “Right away.” I hopped in the car and drove there only to discover the driveway full of fire trucks, rescue vehicles and the Sheriff’s squad around the building my husband plays in. He’s retired, but still plays around with cars.
Apparently he’d been working on a car, and static electricity ignited the gasoline and started a fire. The fire burned a lot of gasoline, and in the process of fighting the fire, Bernie was pretty badly burned. When I arrived he was sitting in a chair, waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
After being evaluated at the trauma center at a nearby hospital, we were referred to the Burn Center at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. The upshot of it all is that he had surgery for skin grafts, and it looks like we’ll be making the 3 hour drive to Nashville several times..
This experience underscored for me the lesson I often teach others. It reinforced for me the importance of remembering what is most important.
From the moment this happened, it realigned my priorities. Work no longer really mattered, other than getting my clients rescheduled. What mattered was being able to be with my husband and to help him recover from this experience.
Yes, there was damage to his building. Among other things, the fire wiped out the electrical system, which then meant that I had no electricity in my office either. Surgery entailed travel to Nashville and rearrangement of my schedule. No problem. My clients understood.
I found friends and neighbors to help with the horses and cats, and put the dog in the kennel. People rallied around. One of our neighbors even took a day off from his job and worked on restoring the electrical system. People we have never met helped out. We’ve had offers to mow the lawn, watch the animals and to do anything that needed to be done. I am moved beyond description by the outpouring of caring and the help we’ve received. People we don’t even know are praying for us.
You see, what really matters is the impact we all have on one another. I rediscovered that nothing is more important than the people I care for and those who care for me. Everything else is just extra. Things that got destroyed are just things, and can be replaced. I’m remembering that my relationship with my husband is more important than any other thing. I feel so grateful for the opportunity to not only relearn this, but to have a chance to share this learning with him.
This experience has been an awakening for us. We both recognize and now remember what is really important--the support, caring and love that others have shared with us and that we share with each other.
WHAT’S NEXT?
If you are ready to take the next step, here’s an ACTION CHALLENGE for you:
1. What would it take for you to be totally clear about YOUR priorities? Who in your life matters most? What could make you drop absolutely EVERYTHING? Who do you care about so much that nothing else would matter?
2. Identify this person or persons.
3. Now, think about what would make a difference to you if you were tied up with taking care of them. What could others offer that would make a difference?
4. When you get an opportunity, offer this to someone in need–in your company, in your neighborhood, in your church, in your circle of friends, or in your family. When you do this, you may be paying forward some kindness that will make all the difference in the world–and you will be helping to express what I’ve learned is really most important.
© 2009 Linda S. Pucci, Ph.D.
DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS
The above material is copyrighted, but you may retransmit or distribute it as long as not a single word is changed, added or deleted, including the contact information. However, you may not copy it to a web site without my written permission.
Slideshows About Learning With/From Horses
Just before all this happened and turned my life upside down, I created a couple of slideshows to explain what horses can add to our understanding about ourselves. I wanted to give people who haven’t experienced how powerful learning from horses can be a taste of what they have to offer.
If you have a chance, check them out and let me know what you think. Here are the links:
What Horses Can Tell You About Yourself
How Horses Tell You About Yourself
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I know you’ll understand the reason this newsletter is a bit briefer than usual this month. Hopefully I’ll be able to write a more typical newsletter next month.
Warmest Wishes for Your Personal Growth,
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