Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Value of One

Watching citizens of America, making their voices known, has caused me to reflect upon the value of one. Think of all the things and people in our lives, in which we only have one: one mother, one father, one God, one vote, one constitution, one mind, one moment.

Yesterday I had one of my little grand-daughters for a few hours. Talk about the value of one!
She just turned 3, which will only happen once, and she says and does some of the funniest things...that may only occur once. She is one of those big thinkers, in a little body. It's never enough to just answer, "just because." You have to give her the entire enchilada! We have had conversations around one question that lasted for over half an hour, but I wouldn't trade that moment in time for anything.

We've been planning our 36th year class reunion; another one ...your graduating class. Now that was a time in my life filled with events I'd love to have more of, and ones I'd like to forget. Isn't that how it is with everything? We have to take the bad with the good. Aren't we blessed if we have more good times than bad to remember and look forward to. I've had one marriage. We've had good times, and not so good. But we are still together, and will celebrate our 34th anniversary this year. Where does time go?

One day, one hour, one minute. Are we appreciating the ones in our lives? I recently read an excerpt from , "The 100/0 Principle", by Al Ritter. It explains that the best way to appreciate others, and interact positively with others, is to adopt the 100/0 principle. This means you take full responsibility ( the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing ( the 0) in return. Instead of giving your marriage 50%, and expecting an equal amount back from your spouse, you give 100% freely without judgements, or expectations. This whole principle reminds me of the definition of charity. To quote from the book,

"When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100/0 relationship transforms into a 100/100 relationship." Get it! Here again, the value of one. If one person makes an effort, it can be the catalyst for others to do the same.

Today and tomorrow, take time to notice all of the "ones" in your life. You'll be amazed...I was.

1 comment:

  1. So true! So true!! You are full of wisdom and truth!! Love you!

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