Today I want to tell you about three wonderful ladies whom I have met here in France. I’ll call them collectively ‘MIN’. One is in her forties, one in her fifties and one in her sixties. MIN embody everything that I want to become. They don’t know each other – yet.
They live full, rich-in-experience lives, spending quality time with their respective family and friends, enjoying their work (although one is now retired), being totally present in the moment. When I am with them, I feel like I am the only person they are interested in being with right now. I feel part of their families, an important and cherished friend, someone they really want to spend time with. It is a wonderful feeling to see them. After being with them, I feel loved, renewed, very happy. Their jobs are very different from each other although all three are or were involved with engaging with people either through hospitality, a shop or a professional service. They share an attitude of total positivity to their lives, looking for the best in everyone, being the best people they can be, being honest to themselves, and just enjoying every moment.
These three lovely ladies are, without knowing it, teaching me how to be me – how to trust my instincts, how to be true to myself, how to be a decent human being but not be a doormat. They are inspirational, yet none of them would see themselves as ‘special’ individuals – they are simply who they are.
Funnily enough, now that I am writing about MIN, I’m also becoming aware of other friends that I have here and abroad – people who are also stretching themselves to be more than they were before, whether in business or as people. Life happens. Things change. And I am learning, here and now, more than ever before, of what I can do to embrace and accept things that can’t be changed whilst keeping a positive mindset and knowing that with people like this in my life, I am so fortunate. With friends like these, I am supported, accepted for who I am, and loved.
I only hope I can give them as much as they give me!!
Wherever you are in the world, I hope you have people like this in your life. And to my wonderful friends in France and elsewhere, thank you for enriching my life!