You Otter Bring Joy to Others
May 25, 2017
Success cannot always be judged by the view from the corner office
August 11, 2019
We often hear from Customers, “Oh you don’t want to hear my stories.” Are you kidding? An emphatic, “YES, WE DO!” is our reply. One of the many reasons we love the work we do is the opportunity to learn about the lives of those we serve. Amazing, fascinating interesting people are at every turn. Not just the Customers but the people who surround them. Listening to them and hearing their life lessons has made us smarter, wiser and more grateful people. Gratitude is something each member of our team embraces. We are grateful for an opportunity to cross paths with these amazing people.
While sitting with one of our recent Customers, I’ll call her B, discussing her upcoming move, a knock on the door brought one of her old friends into our space. The friend apologized that she was interrupting but she had some bad news that she wanted to share with B and she wanted to do it in person. She shared that her brother had passed away and she wanted to explain the cause of his death and his post mortem wishes to B. B, who has hearing issues, asked a lot of questions but understood that cancer had been the cause and he wanted no services to be held.
B felt like she wanted to do something to honor his passing but explained that she was in the middle of moving. The kind woman held her hands and explained that she needed to do nothing. Just remember him fondly and know that she was special to him. Her brother wanted nothing to be done to honor him after his death. B said that she was having trouble with the moving process as she had so much she wanted to bring with her to the studio and it wasn’t possible. She also explained that her husband, who had already been moved to a new space, was acting oddly and she felt he no longer cared about her. B was angry with him.
The kind woman held B’s hands and said to her, “Life is short. None of us know when our time will come. We have to live every day being true to ourselves and the Lord. When we stand in front of the Lord, we want to be able to say that we have forgiven and have loved others.”
She looked around the home, and she said to B, “Let It Go. None of this stuff matters. And when your husband makes you angry, let it go. It’s his disease talking, not him. Let it all go. “
I sat and listened to this wise woman’s words. What a privilege it was to be privy to this conversation. When it comes down to it, what does really matter? Is it the items that we have collected throughout our life? Or the people we have met along the way? In the work that we do, we see every day that letting go can be difficult? But it can also be freeing. Liberating. Exhilarating. Letting go of what doesn’t serve us well. Advice that can be applied to many different scenarios. Simple yet brilliant. Thank you, kind woman, for your sage advice.