The Best Things in Life are Free: This I Believe (May 9, 2008)

     Recently I came across a poem that expressed what is an accurate summation of what I believe is most important in this life. 

The Best Things in Life Are Free
(Author Unknown)

 

When we count
our many blessings;
It isn't hard to see
that life's most valued
treasures are the
treasures that are free.

For it isn't what
we own or buy
that signifies
our wealth.

It's the special
gifts that have
no price:
our family,
friends and health.

                

     From the earliest time I can remember I have had a driving force to help my family and friends.  I remember thinking, even as a small child, that life can be tough and the best way to get through it is to help each other to ease the hard times and, once through those, to share the joy of the good times together.

     Nursing was the vocational path I chose as an adult to facilitate my desire to help provide care and comfort to my fellow man whether they faced a curable illness or a fatal one.

     I have found great personal satisfaction in helping people recovering from an illness, an injury, a surgery, birth of a new baby, living in the convalescent home, coping with the last stages of life, or comforting a family member who has suffered the loss of a loved one.  My hope and belief is that my efforts have provided help and comfort to the families, including my own, that I have worked with in hospital, outpatient or home settings.

       Yes, I believe that the hardships we each face in life can be eased to a large degree when one person helps another.

     I have found great personal joy in just visiting my ill friends and family, and I have experienced that joy myself when I was recovery from surgery and my family and friends took time out of their busy lives to spend time with me in the hospital and while I recuperated at home.

     There are two other sayings I have heard often in my life that also reinforce my belief that helping, standing by or just encouraging each other is the most valuable part of life.

Grandma Jessie Belle use to always say: Whatever you put out, you get back.  I have experienced this first hand.  I have helped other folks in crisis and, when we faced the personal crisis of losing our home to a fire, we were showered with help from caring folks all around us, in the neighborhood, in our church, from out of town, and from family.  That experience alone showed me that, intrinsically, people want to help each other. 

     The other saying that fits right in to all that I have been writing about is: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  I have always found that in treating my fellow man, just as I hope they would treat me, they most often do just that.

     Yes, I believe it is our time and attention that we share with each other, not possessions, that lead to the best life.

Some of the best things in our life:

Haggerty Family (December 1976)

Haggerty Family (Spring 1983)

Haggerty Family (1985)