I am 38 years old. I usually express my age joyfully but with a negative spirit in relationship to aging. That stops now as I was awakened in this way. I am ONLY 38 years old and god-willin’ have many days ahead of me to age, joyfully.
I was made aware of the passing of a childhood friend and classmate yesterday – he was 39. In the wake of his earthly departure, he has a family and an entire community mourning his loss and celebrating the gift of his beautiful spirit. This man was truly one the “nice guys”, the “good guys” -the gentle and sincere kind of man that exuded a subtle and unmistakable strength. He was certainly an old soul and those of us that were fortunate enough to know him were truly blessed. In recent years, I found that when he ‘liked’ something of mine on Facebook, even though I hadn’t been in touch with him (in a non-technological way) in years, a gentle smile crept across my face and there was a slight ‘warm-fuzzy’ I felt in my heart. I understand that this tender man had an impact because he was ‘just’ a pleasant, jovial, for-real guy. Who he was authentically made a difference to many, including me.
In his honor..please take care.
What Are You Actually Saying?
When departing a social situation, we often give the salutation, “Take Care!” And like so many other things in life, we say this out of habit or posterity in order to seem more genuine to the other party. We don’t consider the levity of our spoken word and the impact it truly has.
Do we authentically mean to tell the person to ‘take care’? There is a barrage of interpretations that lives in the space of that one departing colloquialism. Generally it is declarative – YOU take care – Of yourself? In general? Of others? Of a situation? The recipient of the care goes unidentified most times.
Speak With A Purpose.
I propose that our casual and well-meaning ambiguity needs to evolve to a place where we say exactly what we mean in an appropriate, selfless, present fashion. We basically are asking that person we care about (to whatever degree) to take care of themselves so that we may meet again. That is a sweet notion so we must honor message through sincere non-verbal communication such as glances, appropriate and gentle touch, nods, hugs, all while being mindful of our tone.
Make the Mundane Priceless.
People are people and deserve to be recognized as valuable and their experiences validated. This does not mean that you have to be interested in every detail or even having an in-depth interaction with them; they may not want that. I am urging you to adequately and genuinely express care so that it may be a gift. It may be the boost that person (or you) needs that day – just to know someone actually TOOK CARE to honor them and their journey in an intentional way in the course of everyday interaction.
