Admiration is something that has been both easy and hard for me to engage in. I see people that have done great things, accomplished many feats. However, I then also see defeats and moments in which people just walk away. I have admired my family members, and in particular, the women. They have struggled and raised wonderfully successful children. I also admire my cousin who started from scratch working his way up the McDonald’s chain and going on to be a business man with over 20 money-making businesses in his lifetime. Going from nothing to something to everything is highly admirable. In any form and in any field.

to see you as is

is to invite you inside

is to admire you

Although, he is only seven, I admire my son greatly. He is fair-minded and seeks to help those around him. He cares about whether his friends get hurt. He gets extremely upset and agitated on his friends’ behalf when they encounter a difficult situation. He also jumps for silly joy at the drop of a hat. He cracks himself up and who can fault that? Not I. Not I.

We have to admire such characteristics and grow them all around and within us.  So, on this throwback thursday (as the social media sites constantly remind us to look back), I use my son as my baseline. Fairness, justice and joy in the small things in life. Those are grand motivators and ways to live one’s life.