Steve Goodier - A Beautiful Heart

One grandfather quipped about his grandchildren: “My grandkids are four and six. The Pulitzer Prize winner is four and the brain surgeon is six.”

Parents and grandparents are understandably proud of the quick minds and impressive talents of their little ones. But let me tell you about another quality, perhaps even more important, found in a little girl named Skylar.

I received a letter recently from a grandmother who told me about her four-year-old granddaughter Skylar. Ever since Skylar learned of Disneyland from TV, she saved her nickels and dimes in a piggy bank in hopes of visiting there someday. Her parents surprised her with a trip when she was four, however, and didn’t even require her to use her own money!

When Skylar returned it was Christmastime. She decided to buy presents with her savings. But she also learned from announcements on TV about a local homeless shelter called “The Road House.” She repeatedly asked her mother what “homeless” meant and why those children needed coats and warm clothes. She couldn’t seem to get the homeless off her mind. (Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone had that problem?) Read more

Desire

Issues of what to desire or aspire to are addressed more than once by the dying man, Morrie, in Tuesdays With Morrie. He says: “People haven’t found meaning in their lives, so they’re running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job (will be the answer). Then they find those things are empty, too, and they keep running.”

In another passage he suggests, rightly, what can give people meaning and purpose: “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

It has often been said in spiritual circles that material possessions hinder us on the spiritual path. But, desires and material possessions do not hinder the spiritual life as long as one is not attached to them or controlled by them. In other words, as long as you are free to be yourself and are free to choose your responses to ever-changing situations, then desires and material possessions are not hindrances at all. Then they, too, can be enjoyed and appreciated. Read more