A friend recently returned from a trip to Paris. We met at a local cafe for breakfast quiche and lattes so I could see her photos and hear her stories.
After the wonderfully exclusive armchair tour de france, our conversation turned to work. She has seen her hours as a storyteller get cut as school programs have turned away from music, literature, arts and the like. There is no money to fund the extras.
Litigation consulting is no different, I said. Fewer cases are going to trial because they are so costly; lawyers are turning away clients because of new laws on what fees and bills they can collect; lawyers tiring of the rigors of the litigation trail are themselves consulting on cases with colleagues, and the like.
Where's the hope? She reminded me of the prayer: give us THIS day our DAILY bread. While we would love to have the security of weekly or annual bread, it doesn't work like that.
A father who lost his daughter to a drunk driver - the first daughter in the family to graduate high school with honors and go to college - mourned that higher education is no protection.
I continue to revisit the Steve Jobs story: money is no protection from death.
And so it goes.
Why deoderant? I use a form of deodorant that dispenses the product in a dose with a few turns of a little wheel. It's what I need for the day. The toothpaste on the brush is what I need for the day. The water in the bottle, the electricity that fuels my computer, the phone service that allows me to share a call with a sister. It's just enough.
Do I want more? You bet I do. And in the wanting is a humble thanksgiving that my needs are met with assets and resources moment-by-moment.
I am reminded that you can go to a brightly lit theater and not return home. You can date a girl and never know that you will save her life. You can lose a 6 year old daughter on the operating room table.
May we be free from suffering and the root of all suffering - and give us this day our daily deodorant. Thank you.
But you can also, despite time, distance and all life's pressures and changes in direction, maintain a truly close, love-based friendship that defies all and survives all and only deepens over time, where each one's life casn be intimately shared and understood wih only occasional exchanges of eye contact, hugs and a kiss... while both grow in appreciation of all the great little blessings life offers to those with their eyes wide open.
Posted by: Paul Mandell | 24 July 2012 at 06:05 AM
One of my all time favorite writers, Anne Lamott, says there are two prayers in the world: "please please please" and "thank you thank you thank you."
thank you
Posted by: Diane Wyzga | 24 July 2012 at 10:51 AM