"...but they have the right to live too."

"I had a rich life, a good life; I met some people I didn't like, but they have the right to live too."

- Floris Blokland

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I can hear his voice in my head when I read this quote. To me, this quote signifies the value of kindness, respect, and acceptance. I do not doubt that my Opa wasn't always the kindest man, the most respectful man, or the most accepting man. He lived through the Depression, World War 2, and through the challenges of immigrating to a country where you don't know the language and have the pressure of caring and providing for a wife and small children. Needless to say, his life was compiled of numerous challenges that might constitute why some one would be unable to display kindness, respect, or acceptance; however, as he grew older, all his life experiences - the negative & positive - manifested into this quote. This idea that we may not always get along; that we might be different by culture, race, religion, socioeconomic status, etc. - but regardless, we, and everyone else around us, has the right to live.

I don't think we need 90 + years of life experience to come to this realization; in all honesty, I hope we are already integrating the value of this quote into our daily lives. If you aren't, this is an opportunity to challenge your thoughts and system of beliefs. As I said, I don't doubt that there were times when my Opa was unkind, disrespectful, or unaccepting. We are human; we will all have those moments. However, if we choose to be kind in our most unkind moments; if we choose to respond with respect when we have been disrespected; if we choose to model acceptance when we feel unaccepted, then this is when we will spark change; a change in ourselves as individuals - the way we view and interpret the world, the way we view ourselves, and the way we interact & build connections with others - as communities, and the way we teach, model, & raise our youth.

Not only does this quote generate the notion of the importance of the aforementioned values; but it also brings attention to the significance of manifesting gratitude for your own life. How often do we take the time to recognize what has happened or is happening in our present life? Personally, I am definitely guilty of not practicing gratitude enough. I say the word "practicing" intentionally because I don't believe it is enough to just state what you are thankful for; rather, there has to be an actual practice of engraining this appreciation into the way you live your life. Thus, I don't think gratitude is easy. I think it is something we practice daily so we build the skills to engrain these feelings into the way we interpret and interact with ourselves & the world around us.

I have the tendency to focus on the future - what's next. For so long, I wanted what I have and to be where I am right now and now that I'm here, I am already moving onto where else I need to go - what's next. When I stop & I think about how hard I have worked to get where I am, the support I have had from loved ones , the experiences I have had - I am overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. Writing this right now, I know that I too have a rich life, a good life.