All of These

 Word for the Day 

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with 

the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. 

Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.

George Washington Carver 

Tender. Compassionate. Sympathetic. Tolerant. As I typed these key action words pulled from the quote above, I felt the power of each of them. The healing, connecting, loving power. 

Young, aged, striving, weak, and strong. I acknowledge these key words as well. They can all be part of a day or an hour or a week here in my mid-fifties. At 56, I feel young in ways and aged in others. It is an odd place to be; a challenging place, but also a rewarding one. 

If I could have told my younger self something then that I know now, I would have simply reassured myself that life has a way of unfolding that goes more smoothly when I am a passenger, not the driver.  That doesn't mean I just let life happen to me. It means I don't force, overexert, overthink, attempt to manage unmanageables (a.k.a. other people, places, and things). 

Tender. Compassionate. Sympathetic. Tolerant. If I live all of these today, the best I can, for the people I am in contact with throughout the day, and for myself always, the good will show itself and energy will be generated. Onward!