Help a Brother, Help Yourself Out

This is the money left on our porch today to pay the rent. It's a stunning amount of bills, mostly 1's, and they represent the tips from all the drinks our tenant poured. It's right on time. Waiting on people is really hard work, I know I've done it. I am reminded that I'm not the only one working hard and I am chastened. We have for so long been working hard, for ourselves, our needs, our wants, all the things that money can and cannot buy, and I think we have lost sight of the importance of connectedness. It's been an intense week. Even with help, I still do most everything myself and have for so long that to delegate, to ask for the help I really need, feels like more not less work. There's something wrong with this thinking. It's taken a toll, and not just on me. I tell my son Wyatt that his parent's focus is on living a good life. That doesn't mean easy, it means satisfying. Satisfaction comes from positive experiences, not possessions. He just got to spend a month in Italy, I think he's getting the idea. I know this sounds hypocritical coming from someone who sells things for a living, but there's a lot more to what we do and how we do it and that makes all the difference. We all have to make our living doing something, hopefully that something is honest and meaningful to you, ours is. I spent the morning shopping for the store at the local flea market. This is a little market in the town where we live. Most everything comes from around here. It's used stuff and pays other hard-working local dealers their living. We socialize a lot, ask about each other's businesses, health, families, laugh, sometimes cry and often hug each other. I have been shopping here for 18 years and yet today I met a dealer I knew of, but didn't know. We made a nice connection. My shop is 4 blocks away and he followed me over to see it. He said out loud what I have been thinking (even more serendipitous, it's exactly the topic I've been working on for an NPR interview I'm doing this week) about this idea that working together is what we need to do more of to live better. I followed him to his house to see his collection. Oh my god, it was a museum, in a beautiful federal revival house with two lots and a garden. It's next to an abandoned building in Detroit, he says it's safe, there are no bars on his windows and no problems. I think this says a lot about him and the energy he puts forth. I see lots of ways to help him with his business, including recommending this house for movies to rent. I'll put the word out. He makes us blt's. We brainstorm about hosting fellow dealers for a salon, a party, something fun and useful in this beautiful big old house. I confessed I'd had a really hard week, he said he had too. We agreed today helped us both out. I hope saying this to you helps you out. Maybe you can help someone else out. Remember the mantra: May a beautiful where ever you live begin with you.