beBetter 

It’s day two in Newport, Rhode Island, and simply a beautiful morning right before sunrise as I prepare to take on the Cliff Walk at The Chanler. Yesterday, I walked and jogged about two miles out on the Cliff Walk when I had to turn back so I could be at my meeting on time. Today, I am starting just before daybreak so I can go the full three miles out and back as I am determined to see the beautiful point of this amazing Cliff Walk. I know from yesterday that I will incur sidewalks, dirt paths, tunnels and some treacherous rocks on the way.

Church service has just ended and I see our good friend, Andre, making his way out of the church. “Andre, can we give you a ride home today?” “Sure, Joey!” Today, we also have our next-door neighbor and family friend Jan attending church with us. Jan doesn’t know Andre, who is blind, and Jan is talkative so I’m thinking it should be an interesting and fun ride home.

For some reason, hair has been a central theme for me lately. Maybe because I’m quickly losing mine. I have a lot more forehead today than five years ago. Thank goodness I still have the perfect face for radio! 

Most of us are extremely picky about who cuts our hair. I certainly am. I have a “cowlick” and when it’s cut too short, it sticks up everywhere. For most of us, changing hair stylists is like changing your tax advisor, wealth advisor or auditor—it only happens when we feel like we must make a move. 

This past Saturday morning, the sun was shining and my wife, CeCe, and I were taking in the start of a slow weekend with coffee on the front porch. She shared that she recently ran into Father Camp (who is 85 and retired from the ministry) and they had an interesting discussion on life and death. He shared how seeing so much death and ministering to those in grief has been one of the hardest things in his ministry and that  we simply do not know the date we will meet our Maker. That is why it is so important to think about our dash—our legacy and how we impact others’ lives—today.

This blog is the seventh in the series, My Top 10 Blunders and How You Can Avoid Them.