marcoujor: Sleep on it

I posed the question in a recent survey sent to fifty family, friends and colleagues: What matters?

I based this question on this quote by Jonathan Kozol: "Pick battles big enough to matter and small enough to win."

Sleep On It

Mom was wise in so many ways. There are many phrases and sayings in my toolbox of life skills that are straight out of her mouth. The following are a few of the many expressions I learned from Miss Sammie.

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• Sleeping on it. If it still really matters in the morning “that's another story.”
• Putting some things “on the back burner.” While neither of us were ever great cooks, family, education, work and responsibilities mattered first and foremost.
• Remembering “not to bite off more than I can chew.” Oh how I still struggle with this every day. I may just get there one day!
• Not “burning the candle at both ends.” For some strange reason, the older I get, the easier this gets! These days I just burn scented votive candles.
• Everyone has priorities. In my professional experience as a nurse, I have seen a wide range of judgment, wisdom and insight where these priorities are concerned. I may not assume that what matters to me, actually matters to someone else.  I am getting better at asserting that what matters to someone else, does not have to become my pressing cause or priority.

When tomorrow comes...

​None of us know what tomorrow will bring.

Although I try to be organized to a fault, even I realize I cannot plan the timing or nature of my death.

So much of life is a crap shoot. Despite having a deep faith and base of spirituality, I recognize that very little of life is within our control.

So why would death be any different? Death is a part of life.

Mom had a way of being both cut and dry and comfortingly tender about life and death issues. Some of her expressions that I think of to this day are...

“When it's your time to go, it's your time to go.” This was sometimes even accompanied by a, “You can't fight City Hall.”

 “Keep your house ready. Always be prepared.” Through this attitude and mindset, I learned how to prioritize what truly matters.

​For me, when someone or something is truly special to me, nurturing that relationship or issue is of utmost priority. In our family, this maternal attitude translated to stepping up when family and friends need us. I have learned that what matters is respecting the wishes of your loved one.

I believe there is a country and western song written about everything that matters.  My selection for this week focuses on the every day things that can bring on the smiles, by Willie Nelson’s Little Things Mean a Lot.

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​Check out these responses from some of those I sent the questionnaire survey to, asking, "What matters most to you?" 

• My family's health, emotional as well as physical.
• Honesty, integrity, faith, character, family values.
• Loving myself and others and knowing my truth.
• Family happiness.
• Family.
• My family is healthy and nearby.  My friends.
• My family and friends, and kindness to others.
• That I do the most and best I can with each day of my life.
• The health (mental and physical) of family and friends and myself. Seeing my grandson finding happiness.
• Different things matter most to me at different times for related reasons.  It would be most difficult to choose just ONE specific reality in the grand scheme of things that always means the very most to me.  I can only hope you're following my thought process.  I guess I can certainly admit that in all of life & our enormous Universe, my children, their children & loved ones always & forever mean the very most to me. They MATTER beyond belief.
• The love of the people I love. Really, I considered this and that, but nothing would matter at all if I don’t have the love of the people I love.
• My relationship with God and my family.
• Pleasing Jesus Christ as best as I can.

How about you? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. This question shows how similar we are in our differences. As ever, thanks to those of you who have responded to some or all of my survey.

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ShoutOuts

☙JAWS ~ Lurking in your space! via WarnerWords

☙Angela Torres: Making Lasting Impressions via flashPress

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Until next week, wishing you peace and everything that truly matters to you,

​mar