Ralph Waldo Emerson is to have said “I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new.”  I understand this feeling at a deep level in my life these days. Over the last several years I have suffered the loss of many people dear to me quite suddenly. Some of them were people that had been friends or influencers in my life at some point in time and others were my closest family members. They leave behind memories and moments that have shaped my life and who I have become and how I have chosen to live.

These losses have also caused me to reflect a goodly amount on my past and current relationships. Similarly, I find that even more casual connections have a greater depth of meaning.   This has created a desire to say thank you to a very large number of individuals for the moments in time when they had the highest impact on my life. This holds true even for those people that wreaked havoc during a season of my life, because through that pain, beauty subsequently emerged.

It has also made me ponder what the people that I have encountered whether a friend, family member, co-worker, client, boss, neighbor or acquaintance would consider thanking me for when they reflected on our time together. I believe my closest friends would say thank you for the laughter and warmth during sad or frustrating times.   I think my co-workers would say thank you for believing in me, giving me opportunities and helping me to stretch my wings. I think my bosses would say thank you for creating a culture of learning, growth and teamwork. A few of them would say thank you for pushing the envelope, for some employers, this was their least favorite attribute of mine. I’ve been fortunate to have many acquaintances through my children and many of them would say thank you for sharing valuable information and resources that would help their families. What would my family say?   I think my family would say thank you for always trying.  I say trying because I often have epic failures. But I believe they know that I am always trying to create moments that will bond us together, make them stronger, smarter and more compassionate towards others and themselves.  I find great joy in the teaching and sharing of knowledge and resources. I am happiest when I am in a place of creation and personal development and can share my experiences with others.

To each of you that have intersected my life, whether it is brief or indefinite, by choice or happenstance, thank you for the many gifts and lessons you have bestowed upon my life. I hope that I have also provided you some benefaction as a result of our time together in this lifetime.  In closing, I will share this Vietnamese Proverb “When eating a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree.”