Dear Friends: The person you don’t have time to be …

While visiting with friends, Mom mentioned, “The person I don’t have time to be … is the person I am.” I asked her if she remembered those words from the title of my first book. She didn’t. So later, I pulled the book out to remind her, and I found myself reminded.

I love that almost 25 years after penning the words, I’m excited to share them, again. Here’s the brief introduction:

The Person I Don’t Have time to Be …

Is the Person I Am

I am not defined by those actions for which I am paid, but by those actions for which I am unpaid. I am not defined by how much money I spend, but by how I spend it. I am not defined by the role I play in public, but by the role I play in private. I am not defined by the house, the car, or the image in the mirror; but by what outshines them from within.

The person I don’t have time to be … is the person I am.

I am not greed, but the abundance that comes from sharing. I am not anger and resentment, but the joy that comes in assuming responsibility for my own destiny. I am not frustration and impatience, but the peace that comes from living my truth.

The person I don’t have time to be … is the person I am.

I am not determined to be right, but determined to learn from being wrong. I am not determined to be seen, but to see. I am not determined to be heard, but to listen. I am not determined to do good, but to be good. I am not determined to live well, but to love well.

The person I don’t have time to be … is the person I am.

I am not confined by my body, but freed by my spirit. I am not restricted by my culture, but liberated by my universe. I am not bound by finite days, but unleashed by an infinite capacity to love.

The person I don’t have time to be … is the person I am.

The Person I don’t Have Time to Be … Is the Person I Am beckons us from the busyness and reminds us of what makes life worthwhile. It presents simple truths, with no evidence to sift through, that rely on the witness of the heart.

Love smiles on you,