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Can we all just do this one simple thing?

Can we all just do this one simple thing?

We were sitting around the dining room table last night… just talking. Talking about life.
The good. The bad. The ugly.
The happy. The sad. The confusing.
The ups and the downs. Life is certainly full of them.
Just the three of us – Holly, our good friend, Christian, and myself. Christian has just arrived at our home from LA to visit for a few days over Thanksgiving.

Gosh, I’ve known Christian now for years.

For those of you who don’t know, Christian is one of the most gifted photographers in the world. Truly. I remember seeing his work before I met him and being completely blown away.

And then you meet him, and he's like the nicest guy you'll ever meet!!!

At that time in my life, I was just really getting into the “event” business – running a lot of seminars, personal development events, workshops – and I knew I had to have this guy come work my events and photograph the whole thing, start to finish.

There’s something so special about a photo – a moment in time, a memory, forever captured – that's one of my favorite things about live events, and capturing the memories for the people there.

Christian has come with me pretty much everywhere I’ve gone – events, vacations, every kind of trip. Because I want to capture those precious times, those important memories. And he's so talented at it!

Over the years, we have formed a close friendship on top of our working relationship.

Anyway, so Christian is here in our home – happily named “Casa Felice” (Italian for happy home), and isn’t it so nice when you get to just BE with someone. When you can just be open and transparent about anything and everything.

And so we talked. He shared about his life, and Holly and I share about ours.

We shared life together.

You know, I guess I’ve known for a long time how important relationships are, how interconnected we are, and how we really do need each other for so many reasons in life, but this “knowing” crystalizes in my mind and becomes so clear in times like these.
I’ve learned that people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. And the thing is, you may think you know why someone is in your life, or why someone has come and gone, but so often we just don’t know.
But we can trust that whatever the reason is, and for however long they may be present, it’s serving it’s purpose – for you and for them – for your highest good and for theirs.

And this is something I’m really reflecting on this holiday season as we approach Thanksgiving here in the USA.
Thankful for relationships. Thankful for people. Thankful for the lessons I am learning – the new awarenesses I gain as a result.
A long time ago, I first read a certain essay by Thomas Troward – you may have heard me teach on it before… called The Spirit of Opulence. And in this essay, the very last line is so simple yet so profound. And a truth I have come to live by.

And it is this simple statement: “Live and let live.”
I believe that’s what we are called to do in our time on the big blue rock. None of us gets off this planet alive, so we might as well not get bent out of shape and hung up on the little things. The annoyances, the grievances, the stress and anxiety. Sure, it’s easier said than done. But why don’t we just try today and this week to “live and let live.”
There are always going to be people who don’t mesh with you, who aren’t a match for you and your life, who don’t agree with the decisions you’re making or the way you’re making them. You can’t please everyone.

But at the end of the day, there will be people who stick around – whatever the reason or the season is – and those people are worth sticking around for. The “Christian’s.” The “Holly’s.” “The Mike’s.” The “Monica’s.” The "Corinne's." The "Michon's." The "Jason's." The "Reagan's." Just a few good friends who I have been blessed to spend time with these last couple weeks. And many more – so many of you.
Can we find a little extra space in our hearts this Thanksgiving season to let go of the little things, the things that are bugging us and rubbing us the wrong way, to just breath, to live and let live, and to enjoy the beautiful relationships that have intersected in our own lives?
I hope so… I know I am going to be focusing on this with extra measure this week! Will you join me?