I cleaned out Renee's purse today. I discovered women tuck bits and pieces of their lives in there that reveal their souls. Two scraps of paper were carefully folded and neatly stored there revealing what I already knew about her. First and foremost, she loved lists. Most lists were kept in a basket, but this was a more private one - one she made realizing that her time was short. She wrote:
1. Well (I'm assuming that meant get well.)
2. friends/family
3. put life/projects in order/finish - sort out. (I think this one is the reason she hung in there and refused to go until she had no strength left.)
4. Painting/hobbies/stained glass.
5 Live a balanced life. (Her neurosurgeon asked her at one appointment if she was living a balanced life and that really struck her. She believed she was.)
6. Do something good/kind everyday.
The second piece was a quote by Charles Swindoll on attitude. It reads:
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes."
I think number six should be on everyone's list. I am going to put it as number one on my list. Once again Irene has inspired me.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not mistaken Irene got a copy of the Attitude reading from my cubicle at work. She liked it alot. I hope it helped her through the many hard days she had. Miss you Ireeeeeennne!
ReplyDeleteI never met this lovely lady but she has inspired me too.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I was talking with a friend who is much older than me. He was complaining about the dumb things that some people do and it struck me that he still hasn't learned that he can choose to not let this stuff bother him. Attitude is a learned skill. How empowering! We can't change the circumstances but we can control how we react to them.