In a world where we often feel helpless watching what’s going on around us, I met someone who decided that his life mattered.  I want to tell you about him.

On Sunday (after doing one too many errands), I was in the car by myself heading home for a much-needed hour alone (kids with their dad for dinner!).  As I got off the freeway and started to head down toward my house I saw a guy in the distance walking and then sitting down in the middle of the sidewalk.  Now, this is Sunday and near my old office building so there really aren’t people walking around the area.  I worried that something was wrong – maybe because I could see he was very obese.  So, I pulled over and got out of my car.  I hope he wasn’t embarrassed but I just wanted to make sure he was ok.

His story:  He was fine.  Actually, just tired because he’d walked two miles as exercise and was heading home.  He admitted to me that walking or doing much of anything for that matter was exhausting.  But, he told me, he’d lost 104 pounds in the last 10 months and he was shooting for another 100.  I was so impressed and I asked him what had triggered his need for change.  He said that when he heard “Black Lives Matter” he realized that he never thought his life mattered (he’s white, by the way). He’d always been overweight and never really thought he counted for much of anything.  Hearing that phrase caused a switch to flip and he realized that he needed to make a big change because he too deserved to live.  Wow!  As we said good-bye, he shared his favorite quote:

You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.   Mike Murdock

Friends, even when we think it’s so bad.  That we’re so stuck. That we can’t change our world, our life, our perspective — we have to believe that we can.  We need to push our fear of failure away. Each one of us matters – regardless of color, gender, orientation, size or age … we all matter.  And, to make a change –  the kind we need to make to keep ourselves in the game of life — well, we need to start thinking that we matter.  That we can change.  That we can do things differently.  We need to believe it, visualize it and then do it!  Join me … that’s my quest this year!

Have a great day!!