Not long ago I answered a telephone call from an old friend I'd not
heard from for a long time.
"Hi, Steve," he said. "I just wanted to see how you're getting along."
For whatever reason, our paths had simply not crossed for months. It
was good to talk with him. I wondered why we hadn't kept in touch
better.
Toward the end of the conversation, he said, "If you need me in any
way, I'll be happy to help out." And he meant it!
That call came at just the right time, as they so often do. I needed
those words of encouragement. I hung up the phone feeling a satisfying
lump of warmth in my chest.
And that day I re-learned something important about life: life is
primarily about people -- not plans and schedules, not to-do lists and
a million tasks left undone -- it's about people.
To love and to know that we are loved is the greatest happiness of
existence. And happiness seems to be something that is in short supply
for too many of us! My friend reminded me that it is never enough just
to love; we must also express it. What good are our affectionate
feelings toward others if we don't find ways to let them know?
George William Childs put it like this: "Do not keep the alabaster box
of your love and friendship sealed up until your friends are dead.
Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving, cheering words while
their ears can hear them and while their hearts can be thrilled and
made happier. The kind things you mean to say when they are gone, say
before they go."
Happiness ... may be just a phone call away.
