Last week, I wrote on a Discerning Mind. Indeed, these last few days in particular, I have had opportunity to practice. You see, this weekend marks the 4th anniversary of my mother’s passing to the Next Realm (as I affectionately call it). I wrote this on Facebook to honor her.
This is a picture of my mother before she was my mother, or a grandmother or great grandmother. I 
offer this on this day, 4 years after her passing to the Next Realm after 92 years… because it reminds me that lives are more than our memories. My memories of Marion Green (and my dad Malcolm Green) are grounded in my experiences. But both were people… were young… had their joys and fears… their strengths and challenges… like us all. They lived. This 4th anniversary is the hardest so far for me… not exactly sure why. My faith is strong. Earned too. I know that. I do not fear that mom or dad or anyone is “gone” or that I have “lost” them. But I miss them both… in this world. Not out of some obsession with memory. I miss the people they were. I am also reminded this day that none of us “get out of life alive” as a mentor and friend once said. Our unconscious sense of invincibility is to be in question. That is not morbid. It expresses the importance of living in this life… truly living. It was a powerful message in “5 Feet Apart” (which I will see again) yesterday… among other very cool moments. 
Today is hard for me… and it should be. I own it. It is mine. Hard is not awful. It can create a sense of Awe. My life is a gift to me. Our lives are gifts. Watch Dead Poet Society and hear the Professor’s words. Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. This day, I seize the “missing”. I feel it. I embrace it as hard as that is. It is mine. It helps define me and my appreciation for life. Even more importantly, it reminds me that our lives are not a series of pictures or posts… or popularity. My life is mine to use and grow and experience as best I can. Our life is a gift… then appreciating it is more than unwrapping it. It is using it, loving it. This picture speaks to me of a person I never knew … but did. She lived… as Marion Macdonald Green. Miss you mom… and that is a good thing. I think this day is a day for Chapters, Cape Spear, prayer and dreams. My life matters. So does yours. 
Rereading this, it still resonates for me today. As I sang last night, it resonated; choosing songs like Making Plans for Nigel, Auberge and It’s Not My Time.
As well today is the First Day of Ridvan… a sacred time for Baha’is around the world. And, it is Passover and Easter. On Good Friday, as noted in my tribute of sorts, I watched “Five Feet Apart” and highly recommend it. It all has got me thinking about Simplicity, as virtue.
Last night, amidst a circus of emotions and though singing the tunes, I thought of 4 words that I now choose to guide me up and into Summer, whereupon I spend 2 months with my bestie and soul sister visiting.
- HEALTH
- WORK
- SIMPLE
- LOVE
From this day, April 21 through to June 20, health will guide every decision. My work as The Unity Guy™ in class and beyond will be a fierce focus only doing what fits… as I enter Intersession at college and a launch of new work with Epic Engage™. I will sacrifice the less important for the more, in doing so. I will live simple and with love, practicing Contentment in and amidst the urgency of life.
HEALTH. WORK. SIMPLE. LOVE. I am calling them my four horsemen for the now. They fit my plans. There is alignment. What four words could guide you these next few months? What four words can be your promise to yourself; at school, work, business and/or community?
Peace, passion and prosperity…
Barry Lewis Green, aka The Unity Guy