I am participating in 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes 2018 (all of my submissions can be found here).
Today’s prompt is: BELONG
Today’s prompt immediately made me think of this quote from Mother Teresa:
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
I have heard/read this quote often, and each time it strikes me as so fundamentally true.
I was at a celebration of life today for my friend Jere, who passed away 9/22. He was a personal friend through quite a few years of my life as a fellow parishioner at St. Francis and, even though I left St. Francis and he moved to Jacksonville, he remained a friend. His daughter is one of my best friends; his granddaughter is my goddaughter.
I was reminded of the dynamics at a senior living facility — a unique microcosm of society. People get accustomed to things working a certain way (for example, we held the celebration in the dining hall, and that created questions because it edged right up to lunchtime, and the tables were out of place because of the service. People didn’t like their environment being changed.)
Even though residents had to adjust their routines to accommodate the celebration, there was an overriding sense of gratitude for what Jere had brought them (and the staff) as a friend, a “Senior Serenader,” as president of the residents’ council, as one of those people who held high standards for how things should go but held in equally high importance the need to give people a safe place to talk candidly about events, feelings and viewpoints.
He belonged to them; they belonged to him. In the midst of grief about his sudden passing, there was a peace in knowing we shared a love for him and his gifts.
*** end of five minutes ***
Side note: I want to follow up on my afraid post from Day 2. Thank you to everyone who reminded me how important it is to invest in peace of mind. Even though the issue that has been niggling at me has abated somewhat, I have an appointment with the therapist I discussed and know it will be an investment well worth the time and money. Thank you for reminding me that I belong to this Five Minute Friday community, and that you care. pk
Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
Beautiful story. I love that Mother Theresa quote. She was such a wise woman.
Thank you. And as with last year, thank you for your diligence in commenting. That quote is simply universal, simple (yet complex) and profound.