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Reflections
By Katharine C. Giovanni
What an incredible year it
was last year.
I could go on and on about what
happened to Ron and I this past
year, but I won’t. Instead I would
like to urge all of you to quietly
reflect on the past year and see if
you can put everything in
perspective.
Let’s take a look at what happened …
You grew
You expanded yourself
You tried new things.
You were healthy.
You were sick.
Some things you tried failed and
you fell.
You picked yourself up and tried
again.
Some things you tried were
stupendous.
You smiled and kept walking and
then tried again.
Babies were born.
Some people we loved got sick.
Some people we loved died.
You fought with someone and got
angry.
You were at peace.
Some of you started a new
business.
Others were “liberated” from a
job and moved onto to something
better.
We had fun.
We loved.
We got sad.
We still loved.
We made new friends.
We lost some old ones.
We loved again.
Now if you look at the list and
think about it, what is the one
thing that last year gave to you?
Think about it. I can wait.
Every answer will be different. Just
like no two snowflakes are alike, no
two answers to this question will be
alike. Sure it gave us some very
nasty things, but I don’t want you
to focus on that. It’s too easy to
focus on the negative. Rolls easily
off our tongues right? It’s easy to
talk about the hurtful things. I
don’t want to focus on that right
now. I want you to turn around and
look at the other side. I want you
to list all the positive things that
you learned! The things that made
you pause, look deep within
yourselves, and then allowed you to
move forward.
My answer?
I learned about love.
I learned how to accept people
for who and what they are.
I learned to never give up! I
learned to keep walking no
matter what happens.
I learned that change is
beautiful and leads to even
better things if you allow it
to.
I learned how to forgive others.
I learned how to forgive myself.
I learned about love.
I learned that we might forget
the details about what happened
but the feelings will stay with
us for a lifetime.
In fact, let me say that last one
again …
The details will fade, but the
feelings will last forever.
So remember the love. Remember the
peace. Remember the beauty. Forget
the rest. They are not worth
remembering.
Fear is simply …
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
Forget the bad stuff that happened.
Learn from it and move on. I know
it's hard, but it's worth it in the
end.
Forgive those that wronged you.
Forgive yourself as well if you need
to. Then move on from it all. Turn
your back on it and walk the other
way, and please don't turn around
and look back! Just walk. One step
at a time if you have to. Remember,
as my good friend Connie Domino says
... forgiveness doesn’t mean you
want a relationship with them, it
simply means you wish to move on.
Forgiveness is selfish. You do it
for you, not for them.
You don’t have to remember the words
that were spoken, nor do you
have to remember the details. The
good, the bad and the ugly will all
fade in time and you will be left
remembering feelings.
Choose to remember the positive
ones! Choose to remember the
feelings of love, kindness and
compassion.
Why?
As I've said before, change the
inside and your world will change on
the outside. The outside reflects
what is going on in the inside.
Keep love on the inside, and love
will appear on the outside.
Remember the best thing that
happened to you this past year and
take the smile that comes to your
face, and the warm feeling that
appears in your heart, and start
your new year off with those
feelings. Start the year off with
love and happiness!
In the end, there is only one thing
you should remember when you reflect
on everything that happened
…
Remember the love.
Copyright
© 2008-2010 by Katharine C. Giovanni
About the Author:
Katharine Giovanni, the world's leading
international concierge training
expert, has been training concierge
for over a decade. She is Triangle
Concierge's senior trainer and
speaker, and is the author of their
best-selling books Going
Above and Beyond and
The Concierge Manual.
Katharine has traveled around the
country teaching workshops to
groups, individuals and
corporations. She has appeared
in dozens of newspaper articles,
magazines, radio and TV shows around
the country including ABC News
Nightline, CBS News, ABC News, Delta
Airlines Sky Radio, the Wall
Street Journal, Forbes, The New York Times
and Conde Naste to name a few. Raised in New York City, Katharine
has a B.A. from Lake Forest College
and currently lives in North
Carolina with her husband Ron and
two children. Katharine is a member
of the National Speakers
Association. She can be reached
through her websites at
www.triangleconcierge.com
or
www.katharinegiovanni.com |
