Why wait for the funeral?

"Most people only hear about greatness...at funerals." 
-Howard Glasser

That quote from the creator of the Nurtured Heart Approach® was in the context of an online course in the Foundations of the Nurtured Heart Approach® (NHA®), which I was a part of in Fall 2012. I recently revisited my notes from the class and found that great observation.

Why wait until our funeral to have our greatness reflected upon, observed, amplified, and shared? Especially when (depending on your belief system) you probably won't even get to hear all those reflections! 

How would you like to be remembered, what qualities do you want to spring to others' minds when your name is spoken? 

Within the context of the Nurtured Heart Approach®, if you can notice and appreciate a quality of greatness in someone else (i.e. integrity, peacefulness, self-control, tolerance), then you also have some degree of that quality within yourself at that moment. To me, a big part of the NHA® is about refusing to appreciate in silence, and instead choosing to eulogize each other and ourselves long before any of us reaches our funeral!

Take a few minutes today to think about how you would want to be eulogized, and then identify specific ways you have already embodied those qualities. 
This can be so simple, such a tiny step.

For example, I would love to be remembered in part as someone who embraced life. Perhaps one way that I demonstrated that embrace of life was to physically get out of bed today! Sometimes even choosing to stay awake can be a tremendously life-affirming and courageous choice, even if we don't notice it as such within ourselves or generally take awakeness for granted.

I'm only just starting to put my Nurtured Heart® musings into writing, so stay tuned to this blog for more in the future, but I hope that for all of you who read all the way to the bottom (thank you!), you realize that your presence on this page is celebrated (you could have clicked away, ignored it, sent me a mean message, etc. but you didn't!), and your support is felt. 

Let me know in the comments how you would like to eulogize yourself today, just as you are!