List 1 vs. List 2- Who's on your list?

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. "

~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For those in Hawaii, for a short time, they thought their lives might be coming to an end with the false alarm missile attack messaging received on Saturday. This false alarm has brought up many different emotions for many of us.

Our family owns a timeshare in Maui. It's a great escape and a home-away-from-home for us. We are there at least once a year. Here's one of our more adventurous vacation pics....

So when I heard about the false alarm messaging on Sunday, I began to think about, as I'm sure many of us did, what I might have done during that same experience. I found myself mentally on our beautiful lanai, looking out at the crystal blue water, breathing in the tropical winds reflecting... If I thought I possibly might only have 30 minutes to live, what would I do? Who would I call? Who would I have wanted to be with during those final moments if I had been in Hawaii on Saturday?

I made my mental list of those who I would call or want to hug and then I made another list. I compared the second list to the first list and found myself in a profoundly emotional state.

The second list was the list of people I had actually reached out to recently. The people I knew that, without a doubt, knew how grateful I was for them. People that I have actually thanked and described the profound impact they have had on my life. In comparing List 1 to List 2, I found some major discrepancies and it got me thinking....

If List 1 were the people that in my very final moments here on Earth I wanted to be with them and hug them or at least talk to them, why am I not talking to them every single week right now? Why haven't I thanked them yet? A simple text of gratitude, a phone call that ends with "I love you", a simple heart-felt thank you card. If List 1 is so important to me then they need to be placed at the top of my daily to-do list. Or at least place one person on that list, once a day. One phone call per day, one text per day so I can begin to close the loop on these two lists.

Saturday's event may have been a false alarm, but it was a great wake-up call for me. To do better. To try harder and to love bigger every single day. This life is precious and the people who bless our lives are even more precious.

The people who make up the most precious parts of our lives are some of the most important things that matter and we should no longer be so busy that silence wins over love and gratitude.

Make your lists. Begin to close the loop. Break the silence and love bigger than you've ever thought possible. Love wins!

Much love,

Erin