Making History

By Mary Grace Musuneggi

Take a moment to remember the many women who have had an impact on our lives, our society, and our world. Some are famous…or infamous. There are classical women and modern women. Some that always come to mind for me are Madame Curie, Helen Keller, and Florence Nightingale, as these were the few women I was taught about in school in my early education. As I grew older I learned to admire Jacqueline Kennedy, Princess Diane, Mother Theresa, and Eleanor Roosevelt…didn’t we all? It wasn’t until the civil rights movement and the women’s movement that I learned about Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony and Betty Friedan. And there are so many more women who have made a difference, but whose names will never be household words.

More importantly, there are those women who have influenced our personal lives. For me those would be my mother, my Aunt Mary, Sr. Theresa Marie, friends, family, and business associates. My world is all it is due to the love of good friends and the “kindness of strangers.” There are so many women I admire because they have imparted their knowledge to me or been excellent examples of successful businesswomen, amazing mothers, and/or community leaders.

But while these women have been influencing our world, what have we been doing to influence others? We all have a responsibility to impact the world around us. And little do we know that by our mere presence here, we are influencing a small piece of it. You are an example to your children and to your co-workers. Could you be a mentor to a student…volunteer to make a women’s group more viable…share your knowledge and talents with others…leave a legacy so your goodwill lives on long after you?

We must be grateful for those women who have made history and go out into the world and make history of our own.

Doing What Makes You Happy

By Mary Grace Musuneggi

I once heard a story about a little boy who day after day would walk to a neighborhood park carrying with him a bag of chocolate candy. He would sit on a bench, and he would eat and eat until all the candy was gone. The remnants of the wrappers would be in his lap, and his face would be smeared with chocolate.

He would clean up the aftermath, wipe off his face and head on home…only to return the next day to do the same. After a time an old man who also came to the park every day just couldn’t watch this any longer without saying something to the boy.

“Young man. Do you know that it is very unhealthy to eat that much chocolate every day? You really should not do that.”

To which the little boy answered, “Sir, do not worry, my grandfather lived to be 100.”

“And did he each chocolate every day, too?” asked the old man. “No,” said the little boy. “He minded his own business.”

The moral of the story is: If you are doing something that makes you happy, maybe you shouldn’t let other people tell you what to do.

The Story of the Beads

By Mary Grace Musuneggi

Once upon a time there was a man named Donny who had been diagnosed with cancer and given only a year to live. He could only imagine what that year would be like, but he knew if it was his last then it was his last chance to make each day special.

Not wanting to risk that any day would go by without making it the best it could possibly be, Donny decided he needed a way every day to remind himself of the limits of his life span. So he went to a craft store and purchased a glass jar and 365 small, round colorful beads. Each morning when he arose, he took a bead, meditated on it and on what he would do with the 24 hours ahead of him, and then he tossed the bead away.

The first time I heard this story, I thought it was sad and morbid to be counting down the days, watching them slip by as the jar became more and more empty. But I then learned that Donny went through all the beads in the jar and he was still here. In fact, he filled the jar once again and managed to stay in the world for another six months before his life came to an end. Donny deliberately lived and experienced 545 very special days.

No matter how old we are, can any of us truly say that we have planned and executed 545 special days?

How great would it be if we could as we go forward? If our life expectancy is age 90 or 95 or more, how many days do we have? How many beads would that be? And since tomorrow is never promised to anyone, maybe we need to fill our own jars with 365 beads and repeat this year after year.

In The Writing Life, Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

So let’s spend each in the spirit of carpe diem and seize the day. Pick up a bead and have a great day!