Before my son was born, I
had certain expectations about what being a father
was going to be like. I imagined that there would be
challenges and that there would be trying times. I
also imagined that there would be times that would
take me to new levels of joy and happiness. So far,
I've been correct in those assumptions.
However, I imagined that the most rewarding
aspects of being a father would be the incredibly
significant, life altering moments: my child's birth, the
first words, the first steps and so on. But I was
wrong.
Please don't misunderstand; in the two years and
three months since my son's birth, I have been awe-
struck by those incredibly significant, life altering
moments. But they are not what I consider to be
the most rewarding times.
For me, the most rewarding times are when I
reach into my jacket pocket and find one of his toy
cars! These cars are very special to him and
throughout the course of the day he will entrust one
or more of them to me for safe keeping. In the busy
rush of life I will generally just drop them into my
pocket and keep going. But then, sometimes hours
later, I will reach into the pocket and find one of the
cars. Instantly I am reminded of how lucky I
am to have him in my life!
This week, I just want to suggest that you take
the time to be mindful of all of the little things that
happen on a daily basis that help make your life
rewarding. If you do this, I'm sure you'll feel like the
richest, luckiest person in the world. I know that's
how I feel! (Thanks for the lesson, son!)
ENJOY NOW!
The reason you're "here"
is not to be good, to be better, to be
perfect, to get "stuff" done, to save the world, to
save somebody, to prove something, or to be
anything - other than yourself.
That's all you have to work on. That's all
you can do. But by doing it - all those other things
will happen anyway.
- Mike Dooley from Notes from the
Universe
Visit Mike's Website and Buy the Book
I've had a number of people write
me to ask how Jamie is doing. (Jamie
's story)
Jamie's mother Debbie recently gave me the
following update:
Jamie came home Friday the 22nd
after having surgery on Oct. 19. She has her
hospital room set up in our living room. At the time
of surgery they opted for less hardware in order to
use a lesser anesthetic (due to her head injury) and
thus we are looking at a minimum of 3 months of
bedrest. She can sit in a wheelchair about 30
minutes a day.
Debbie also wanted me to thank everyone for the
encouraging e-mails that they have received. You
can still write to her at
debbie@mathieu.com
Copyright (c) 2003-2004, all rights reserved.
National Library of Canada ISSN 1708-0606
You may copy, forward or distribute Mindful Moment provided that this
copyright notice and full information for contacting Patrick Mathieu are
included.
Contact him at: http://www.mathieu.com
or email patrick@mathieu.com.
