Me and my older sister 1972
Read the quote and let it inspire your post: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel". -Maya Angelou
Feelings are part of most memories, whether it be good or bad. I think as a child you have this sixth sense about people, we learn to over ride it as we become adults, but as a kid you know how people make you feel. You know which school teachers really liked kids and were dedicated to your learning and which ones were just going through the motions. You are in tune to how people make you feel and you are drawn to the ones who make you feel good about life and yourself. I have been fortunate enough to have known a few of those people. You feel instantly accepted by them, they light up a room with their happiness and you want a part of it.
How do they get that?
How can I get that?
I don't have the answers to these questions but I have a suspicion that it comes with experience, that it begins by loving yourself, and that it isn't some place I will arrive but an ongoing process.
I remember how I felt:
- When my first grade teacher let me stay after school and help her correct papers, then drove me home. I felt special.
- When my best friend and I started a business selling our clay creations door to door. I felt smart and like I could take on the free enterprise system and be successful, I was 10.
- The day I got married, I felt Lucky.
- When I looked into the eyes of my newborn child. I felt awe.
- The day my daughter graduated from college. I felt overwhelmingly proud.
- When my best friend told me she started to cry after hearing a news story about a woman who lost her best friend to cancer. She said she thought about losing me and cried. I felt gratitude for having such a good person in my life.
This makes me wonder, how do I make other people feel? Not just because of my words, but my actions? My husband, children, my best friend?
Excuse me, I think I have some work to do.
P.S. I don't know why my writing keeps taking the form of lists, but I am going with it.
I loved your list! I read this prompt from Mama Kat, but had no idea how to write anything related to it. I think you did a great job with it! It really makes me think about people in my past and how they made me feel now. And, I too, wonder how I make others feel.
ReplyDeleteI'm a list maker, so several of my posts tend to be written in that form as well. And wouldn't it be interesting to know how we make those around us feel?
ReplyDeleteFantastic job with this prompt! Saw your link and had to stop by - my blog is "3 Moms In 1 (A Balancing Act)". It seems everyone is balancing many things these days :)
ReplyDeleteVisiting from MamaKat's!
-Julie from 3MomsIn1.com
I enjoyed your list and it did a great job making your point. I would like to add that perhaps practicing being like people with that special quality helps us to get closer to being like them. Well done!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Love the picture! Thanks for stopping by my blog. You mentioned in your comment that you never once thought about death while reading it. Here's the thing. I fell asleep almost while I was writing it and didn't really finish it. So I had to go back today and update it. I didn't even INTEND for it to be about death...it just turned into it...see my update at the end of the post!
ReplyDeletehttp://littlebishopchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/01/ode-to-red-hots.html