I sat at the foot of my Mom’s hospital bed rubbing her legs and loving her tired and shaky spirit. We held hands and smiled at each other. She told me she felt her light was dim and that she was scared and felt alone. She asked me if I would visit her every day. Seeing her so frail made me think about all the years I held resentment toward her for not being what I thought to be the “perfect mother.” Now that I am a mother myself I can truly understand that there is no such thing as a “perfect mother” and that we all do the best we can. All those feelings washed away as I sat there with my heart wide open in love with my Mom, enjoying and completely grateful for every moment I was able to spend with her.

Being here with my Mom who has been so sick puts everything into perspective and reminds me of what really matters, and what I do with my time here on earth. It is unfortunate that it often takes circumstances such as this to get us to start asking ourselves the deeper questions about life. I asked myself, what am I really doing? And am I doing things that really matter to me, or am I spinning my wheels and wasting my energy? Am I doing things that raise myself or the people around me or am I spending time being critical, and negative? Am I truly loving the people that mean the most in my life? Am I being real and present? Am I being honest about my feelings? Am I being compassionate towards others and treating others as I wish to be treated? Am I focusing on all the things I should be doing and getting caught in the rat race, or am I realizing what really matters which is human connection, love and compassion? Most importantly what am I doing to make my world a better place, within my circle of influence?

So with this new year I thought these would be some really good questions to ask myself, so I can live a meaningful life that is of the heart and filled with true love, and so I can do my part to help in any way I can while I am here. I have always known I have come here to make a difference, and I dictate this year as the year of action. Would you like to join me in asking this question “what can I do for you? And “how can I help?” the world needs us!