David Brooks, Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, wrote an essay titled “The Moral Bucket List” which was posted in the Sunday Review section of nytimes.com. He began his essay with the following paragraph: “About once a month I run across a person who radiates an inner light. These people can be in any walk of life. They seem deeply good. They listen well. They make you feel funny and valued. You often catch them looking after other people and as they do, their laugh is musical; and their manner is infused with gratitude. They are not thinking about what wonderful work they are doing. They are not thinking about themselves at all.” He went on to say in the next paragraph, “When I meet such a person, it brightens my whole day.” We can all become “day brighteners” and the secret is in the last sentence of Mr. Brooks’ opening paragraph: “They are not thinking about themselves at all.” Instead, they are thinking about what they can do to make other people’s days. That’s how we make our inner light shine.

One Sentence Wisdom

• “If you think your too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.” — African Proverb
• “How you make others feel about themselves, says a lot about you.” — Mimi Novic

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