This is one of my favorite months, in part because I don’t have any business travel, which means more time with my wife and daughter in Mexico.
Although, I have to admit, sometimes after lots of time together, noticing their observations can be pretty humbling. Particularly when I’m fresh off the road, where I’m usually hearing and savoring extraordinarily kind comments from readers and audience members.
At home I hear things like: “Daddy… how come you have zero hair?” or “I will be as old as you in 21 billion years.” Brutal!
Even when I once mentioned to my wife (before she was my wife) that someone gave me a poor review on a talk, she replied, “Maybe they were making a good point?” Who else will tell you these things?
Humbling, but honest. Invitations to maybe learn something new, if you choose to see yourself through another’s eyes.
Of course, their musings are more than offset by the countless iterations of, “Daddy, I love you,” unexpected hugs, and the most amazing guacamole (that has to be made with love or it could never taste so good). Always, in situations like these, when we pay attention, we find the good wildly offsets the bad; the beauty wildly offsets the ugly; and the love wildly offsets everything else. Yet ALL of it, even the bad and the ugly, adds to who we are.
So, as I write to you from Mexico, excited for the holidays while braced for whatever may be said next, I wish you lots of love, honesty, the eyes to appreciate a new perspective, and the wisdom to know how good you really have it.
You are adored,
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