Reach Out

This morning I was going about my schedule for today.

Pray, exercise, decaf, shower, dress up, click open laptops, start the “to do list”.

Then I got a message that the sister of my schoolmate/friend had died.

Mind you, we were last together almost 30 years ago (medical school). This is actually when and where I met her sister.

My first recollection of this sister was that she was extremely graceful and elegant. She kind of reminded me of royalty. But she wasn’t snobbish or condescending. Just gracious.

I remember thinking that I wanted to be just like her.

And I made a concerted effort every day after that to do my part to be graceful and elegant.

I didn’t always succeed, but sometimes I would stop and look in the mirror and say in my head “I hope I’m getting this right” as I thought of her.

So for 30 years I have thought of this wonderful person off and on.

And I never told her how she inspired me.

And I never told my friend how her sister inspired me.

I am now just letting her family know through their memorial site.

But it would have been better to let her know while she was alive.

That is my regret.

So my task for this year is to reach out to those people from my past (and present) who pop into my head from time to time, and let them know how they have touched my life.

Whether by phone call, text, email or snail mail.

And I will continue to reach out to others I encounter to hopefully inspire them as well.

So the song that comes to mind (because I always have a playlist in my head) is Diana Ross singing the 1970 song…

“Reach out and touch, somebody’s hand, make this world a better place, if you can.”

Who will you reach out to this week?