The Meaning of a Day
My dad didn't live to see his 68th birthday. He would have turned 83 today. August 30th has always been imprinted as the day we’d celebrate my dad. I still text my mom and sister each year to mark it. Earlier this week, I’d forgotten it was coming up. I remembered when my mentor and friend, Nancy Levin, mentioned the upcoming anniversary of the day that Louise Hay and Wayne Dyer died two years apart. It was on my dad’s birthday.
I first learned about Louise Hay when I received her Power Thought Cards for my bridal shower from a colleague. This colleague gave me an auction package she’d purchased at our gala that included a Jamba Juice juicer and recipe book along with Louise’s cards. The cards sat unopened for many years until I discovered Hay House radio and met authors like Nancy Levin and Wayne Dyer. When I finally opened them, I found out that the cards did include power thoughts and now they are read often. I use one about success as a bookmark in a daily reflection book I read every morning.
Wayne Dyer was a powerful author and speaker as was Louise. I always liked his name because I grew up in Dyer, Indiana, and enjoy making meaningful connections like that. It’s what I did when Louise and Wayne both died on what would have been my dad’s birthday. Made it mean something to me that all these teachers would have a connection to one special day.
My father was a complicated man, and yet I learned so much from him. I learned how to tell a story, make people laugh, the importance of education, how to appreciate silence, radio shows and marvel at thunderstorms. I also learned the destruction that can happen when you are someone who feels emotions so deeply and don’t know how to ask for the help that you need. This last part has been a driver for me – how can I give and get the support that is needed. It is no surprise that I became a nonprofit leader and a coach.
Today I’m celebrating the teachers in my life. You may have heard the expression, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” I am grateful to have had many teachers appear at just the right moment. Today, I remember and celebrate Louise, Wayne and most of all my father. Happy Birthday, Dad.
With gratitude,
Holly