Now is the time…..

Hello All,

Now is the time for so many things! I will start with a belated Happy Father’s Day to all of the remarkable fathers! My apologies for not including this in last week’s edition. Both Bob’s and my little dad are looking after us from Heaven. I expect my dad shakes his head a lot with some of my antics! Both men were incredible role models and loved their families. They are missed. For those of you who are blessed to still have your fathers here, never forget to tell them you love them!

2020 is a year of turmoil and change…..and new beginnings. I have read two quotes this week that have truly resonated with me. The first is from my not so secret crush, Dr. Anthony Fauci – “Now is the time to care selflessly about one another.” I am quite sure he was discussing social distancing and appropriate PPE (I am still amazed that PPE – personal protective equipment – which we have talked about in healthcare for years is now our globe’s shared language!) – and with Covid 19 still hanging around, we definitely still need to do both! But that simple statement has a much broader connotation with the events of this year. It really is the time for us to love and embrace each other so we can move conversations forward and create change. It has also made me think about leadership and how can we improve. How do we bring human to human resources? Ahhh – now you know the topic for next week!

The second quote is from Aya Chebbi, the first ever African Union Special Envoy on Youth and the youngest diplomat at the African Union Commission Chairman’s Cabinet – “Our power comes from using love to heal and mend broken parts of our world.”  The power of love and compassion heals and mends broken bodies and spirits in healthcare. The power of love helps grow minds and fosters goals in education – now we need to do that for all education. The power of love – selfless love – will be needed for us to mend our fragmented society, to weave a tighter bond between people, to fix the broken parts. It is needed work – there will be parts that are hard and uncomfortable – and it is time. Each of us will play a critical role. The role may not be huge. It may be within our social bubble or on a larger scale. Each action will move us forward.

I must leave you with a smile! So People magazine’s latest issue listed 100 reasons to love America. There are way more than 100 reasons! And multiple of my favorite reasons were included! Coming in at #6 was Dr. Fauci! (I am still rooting for him to be this year’s sexiest man alive!) PEEPS came in at #34 (I can’t live without these marshmallow treats, and always have them in the house!). Brad Pitt came in at 38. (I was a little surprised that PEEPS came in before Brad.) Krispy Kreme doughnuts (little circles of goodness) came in at #45. And Coco Gauf, the tennis phenom who has singlehandedly made me watch tennis, came in at #89.

I love that peaceful protests came in at number 1. If you think about it, our whole country came about because people protested for religious and other freedoms. All of the incredible people on the frontlines of this crazy pandemic can be found in the top 100. And gratitude came in at #100. Though the call out is for the gratitude we have shown to the frontline workers, I think we have recognized what things are truly important – family, friends, health, joy, laughter. Our hearts are full for so many reasons. And I bet many of your favorite reasons are listed there too!

Now is the time. Use your power for good. Use you power for love.

Phyl