The first time I heard this song, I was powerfully transported to the Golden Gate Bridge, seeing everything around me and hearing my mother’s thoughts as she stood preparing to jump. She stood on that bridge preparing to jump more than once, but this song took to me one particular day. As she stood there this day, a little boy and his mother walked up, and the little boy asked her to take their picture. She took their picture, and as they walked away, she heard the little boy say “Wow, that lady was so nice!” That tiny moment of that little boy seeing value in her was enough to keep her from jumping that day. In fact she was so moved by that simple statement and the difference that it made to her that she wasn’t even sure they were really there, she thought they must have been angels. And she wasn’t even one to go in for such things … I think she just had no concept of the power of simple kindness, nor that anyone could truly value her. As I reflect on honoring her birthday today, I contemplated whether this song would too narrowly focus her life and memory on the way it ended, as so often happens when people are lost tragically. The truth is, though, that she lived her life on the precipice, and as I’ve often said, had to make the decision of whether to jump over and over and over. Waiting, as this song so beautifully says, for love to intervene. As I believe Matthew described to me once, she could see it, but seemingly through a window where she couldn’t access it. Im so thankful for all the times over the years that love did intervene, and she could feel it for a moment. Our words are so incredibly powerful. We have no idea who’s listening, and how deeply they will be impacted by we say. As you go about your day and as a way to honor my mom’s (and Elvis’!) birthday, please keep in mind the day that my mother’s life was saved by someone saying “Wow, that lady was so nice!” How might things have turned out differently if that little boy had said “Wow, that lady is fat!” And here’s news for you: If you say something snarky or mean about a celebrity? You’re saying it about me. Because clearly you are making value judgments about whatever it is. Absolutely no good, and much, more damage than you imagine comes from saying mean things. About ANYONE. Anytime. Be kind … it matters, and it saves lives.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 17:21:49 +0000