As good as you let it!

It occurred to me yesterday as I was finally making my first post that I hadn’t really put enough time into naming this little venture.  I ended up with “As good as you let it” for a multitude of reasons.  

It could have been “Unvarnished” which is where most of us like to reside, in our “natural state” without the veneer that we wear each day.  There are problems with this though.  Unvarnished, we’ll age a little too quickly, we’re susceptible to spills, dents and dings much more so than when we have our veneer on.  Unvarnished, it is much more easy to see the “real” us, knots, defects, imperfections, all of it, raw and exposed.  I happen to accept my veneer, it is part of me.  It does not dominate me, make me unreal or deceitful. 

Let’s use another word, let’s call it our “uniform.”  When a ball player steps onto the field he wears the correct uniform.  We all accept this as part of the game.  It doesn’t change the man playing the game; it is what he wears when he plays the game.  To the extent that a person is genuine to himself (or herself), the uniform is meaningless. 

So for me, unvarnished is just a bit to angry, it suggests there is a disconnect between my corporate self and my “real self.”  There isn’t.

“Make it a great day”

Many people have received an email from me with the closing, “Make it a great day,” I did this for years, how many I can’t recall.  It was a deliberate attempt to remind people to do their best to make each day the best that it can be. (Cue Army commercial).  I like this; it works for me.  As I’ve continued to mature? Age? Grow?  (Mental note for another Blog topic) I’ve become less comfortable with it though.  Why? 

Let’s start with the definition of make:  “to cause to exist, occur, or appear.”  So then we could change “make it a great day” to “cause a great day to exist.”   Bear with me here, I believe we can MAKE great things happen; we can MAKE great coffee; we can make a great financial decision; we can even make great love (well hopefully anyway! J ) but can we make a great day?  I don’t think so.  I think most of the days, most of the time are already great.  Name your spiritual leader, God, Buddha, Allah, ( I will not engage you in religious debate. I respect you and your views and ask you to respect mine.)  I believe he or she or it or they made it great.  Our responsibility is not to MAKE it a great day…  Our responsibility is to LET it be a great day.

You see there is greatness in your life.  You are surrounded by it.  It is a smile, a wink, a flirt, a kiss.  It is a project well done.  Greatness is all around you.  Don’t believe me, lay your ear upon the chest of one you love and listen to her heart beat.  Watch a child laugh out loud – the real-down-to-the-marrow-of-your-being kind of laugh.  Savor a sip of wine, or the sweet taste of hard work coming to a successful fruition. 

So, my email closing no longer says “make it a great day.”  Quite frankly, you’re just not big enough to MAKE it a great day.  It now says “All the best” which means that I wish you all of the best that life has to offer.  I wish you joy, success and wellness.  Most of all, I wish you the wisdom to understand that every day of your life will be AS GOOD AS YOU LET IT be.

Keep working and striving and climbing and hoping and dreaming.  Just don’t ever….EVER stop savoring the greatness along the way.  The more you recognize it, the more you’ll have.