Being there

Sometimes that is enough. Just being there. Whether someone asked you to or not, but you choose to be there because being there is not for you or about you. It's about making someone else's important thing just as important to you because they are that important to you. It means dropping work at the drop of a hat because you see someone you love not feeling well. It means sending a card to anyone just to say, "I love you and am thinking about you." It means doing more for others than maybe what you might see is being done for you. It means holding someone's hand when they are nervous, knowing that just that gentle touch will provide some comfort and settle your heart as much as it does theirs. It means hearing their voice when that is the only thing that will make your heart smile, even though neither one of you can see it. It means making choices that are not really even sacrifices because you would do it again, every day and twice on Sunday. Being there is so much without a single word ever being said. It means standing at the back of a crowd, catching a widower's eye, so that he knows you took time out of your day to pay your respects. It means attending a baseball game for a teenager who might not have a great deal of support at home. It means holding someone you love because they need to shed tears that their heart seems to want to pour out. It means helping a stranger who doesn't have enough money to buy a gallon of milk. It means stopping by unannounced and bringing someone lunch, even if they don't get to eat it. It means living in someone's soul and heart, even when time has passed between you. It means taking 15 minutes to check on a neighbor in the hospital. It means not caring about what it might look to others, because you know that you don't want to have any regrets. It means that you still are present in their lives, even when they are surrounded by chaos, because by your being there, you somehow quiet everything around them. Being there is so important and is what people think about most when they thank others, especially when the big things show up in life. But being there can mean just as much for the smaller things as well. No one needs to know that you were there except you. Can you feel it yet? You have to tell me that you can. Being there is not just about physically being there, but emotionally being there and committed to being "whatever you need, for as long as you need it, because you need it." Be a master of being there. It is easier than you think and gives others so much joy and that in itself can mean everything. Sometimes being there is more than enough..it is all there is. Be there.