I received this in an email and it touched my heart. I hope it does yours too. We often take for granted those we love the most. This is a reminder to me to let the people I love know what they mean to me.

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, “And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?”

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, “She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.”

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, “That is the kind of love I want in my life.”

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

With all the jokes and fun that is in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you.

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

“Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.”

We all know someone who very much wants to find a new love in their life, or someone who wishes they could lose weight, or someone who would like to have a new job or someone desiring a wage increase. What do they all have in common? They’re wishing it would happen. It’s like they can only focus on their wishbone and DO nothing to MAKE it happen.

I see it all the time on SexyAds.com. Some men will join and write a one-line ad that says something like:

Handsome male with talented tongue who can last all night.

Actually that wouldn’t look like that.. it would have been tounge for the flappy thing that can last all night. If you were thinking that was a good ad, don’t. Women will not reply to that ad. Not ever. They don’t want a date with a tongue, they want a date with a man. We date men – the sex bit is important but it’s not more important than who he is as a person.

My point is, this man is wishing for a hot date but he’s not doing anything that will help him to reach his goal. My friend Sal wishes she could lose weight but sits with a pack of cookies and a quart of milk while she wishes.

Don’t get me wrong, wishing is the first step. Without wishing we wouldn’t get anywhere. It’s how we know what things we want and what things we don’t want, so never skip that step but don’t make it your only step.

Once you’ve decided you want a new relationship (or anything else), commit to doing something to make it happen. Roll with the flow but take every opportunity to put yourself in position to allow success to happen. If you join a dating site, create a good profile. Write an ad or profile to attract the sort of person you would like in your life, upload photos showing you off at your very best and then write to everyone that comes even close to matching what you seek. Remember, they can’t put everything in a profile, so if you want someone who loves sailing, write and ask if they enjoy it.

The wishbone is only the beginning!

A friend of mine sent me a link to ZenHabits.net and I thought it was good enough to share with you. It’s not often a site really gets me thinking and this one really did.

The author of Zen Habits is Leo Baubauta, a married father of 6 who lives in Guam. I’m not sure how he learned all these really great tips but I’m certainly going to try them in my life this year. For example:

Tip #1 is about goal setting. We all know that setting goals is the first step to achieving them, but how many of us come up with 5 or 10 goals every January only to crap out on nearly all of them. The best tip is to make ONE goal. Don’t dilute your action over 5 or 10 goals but find ONE that is way more important to you right now than all the others. I’m really guilty of having a laundry list of improvements I want to make in myself and my life. I’m going to have one goal this year. Wish me luck. If you’re still looking for love, maybe that’s YOUR goal for 2008!

Check out Zen Habits and see how many tips you can incorporate in your life.