Not the center of the universe

Yesterday, I went to a funeral.  All funerals are sad. There is no escaping the fact that someone is gone from this plane of existence, and many people will find a void in their lives that can never be filled.

That said, the funeral I attended yesterday was for an eighty-eight year old woman who had lived a wonderful, joy-filled, caring life that enriched the life of everyone she came into contact with.

At the funeral mass, the priest shared that in his estimation, there are three types of people in the world.  There are people that live for themselves, and everything they do is about them and what they need and want.  Then there are people that live for themselves and their families, and they stretch their circle of caring to include doing everything they can to make sure their families have everything  they need and want.  The third group is people who live for humanity, for all of God's creatures and creations.  They live for themselves, and their families, and everyone they meet.  They find great joy and satisfaction in bringing joy and comfort to everyone they meet.

In the priest's estimation, these are the people that live the happiest, most fulfilling lives, and they are also the people that earn an everlasting reward.  In the Catholic tradition, these are the people that go right to Heaven and live in the joy of Christ's presence.

Even if you are not Catholic, and don't believe in an afterlife, or eternal salvation and all that goes with it, I still think that the priest was right.

The more you live for others, the more you seek to bring joy and comfort and light to others, the more joy and comfort and light you experience.  The best thing that can happen to you is that you learn early and never forget that you are not the center of the universe.

All of us are selfish sometimes.  We all want to be free from pain, and hunger, and anger, and hatred and all negative things.  But it seems the more we focus internally, and look at what we have and don't have, what others have and don't have, the more unhappy and angry we become.

The best antidote for feeling sad and sorry for yourself is to do something to make things better for someone else.  It is extremely difficult to cheer someone up without accidentally becoming happier.

And like everything else in life, your thoughts direct your actions, your actions become your habits, and your habits become the way you live your life.

Training yourself to redirect negative emotions into positive actions is easier than you think.  And all different types of people can take all different types of actions to make someone else's world brighter.

Some may be artists, creating music, or photos, or wearable art, or paintings or drawings that will lift up others.

Some may be doers, who visit hospitals and nursing homes and prisons.  People who work in food kitchens or homeless shelters.  People who babysit for neighbors, or who keep company with the elderly.  People who deliver meals or bring cakes or pies or cookies to someone who needs to know that someone cares.

Some may be providers of words of hope, through blogs, or web postings, or books or social media posts.

Some may simply be the person at work who always has a kind word, the person who lets you in front of them in traffic, the person who smiles at your child in the grocery store.

We do have the power to choose how to process the events in our lives, and how to present ourselves in our homes and in our communities.  Today can be the first day you choose to be a force for good, a person who lives for humanity.

Very few of us will grace the pages of a history book.  Very few will have names that are known outside our immediate communities.  You are not the center of the universe.  That doesn't mean you are not important, and that your contribution isn't absolutely necessary to someone.

That is the beauty of living for humanity.  You may never know the positive impact that you have, but the positive energy you expend to make it better will be with you always.

I think the best any of us can hope for is that when we leave this plane of existence, everyone that speaks of us does so with a smile, and a story of how we made them feel more.  More loved, more valued, more appreciated, more special.

You are not the center of the universe, but on any given day, you can make the universe less frightening and more accepting of each person that you interact with.

How great is that?  Maybe even better than being the center of the universe.