Dear Amon,

If there were ever three qualities to employ in life during the toughest times, they are:

Laughter, Curiosity  & Kindness

Laughter:  having a sense of humor about everything, even the most seemingly sad, dark or frustrating things in our lives will be your ally.  Surround yourself with people who also chose to be light of heart and see the nonsense in the human experience.   Not only does laughter lighten your heart and soften the heavy hard edges of fear, it also allows you to let go of the structured ideas and see things in a whole new way.  It’s not all so serious my son.

Curiosity:  I’ve referenced this before in other letters, but I have found that looking at life with the objective lens of a third-party observer can be very useful.  Life is a series of good days and bad.  A multi-colored collage of experiences, non stop.   It’s easy to feel like we are tethered to a ship at sea in a storm, where our mood, emotions and stability is dependent on other people, places and things.  When we look at everything as if it s happening to us, it’s hard not to take it all personally.  It is personal.  Very personal.   But when we observe the outside world and what effect it has on us as if we were an outsider to the experience, we can learn to see patterns and solutions we might see otherwise.   Many times over recent years I have found myself saying “this is familiar.  I’ve been here before.  And what I know about these kinds of experiences is ____.  No one left me. I didn’t end up living in a ditch, or I didn’t die.”    Oftentimes it just comes down to that.   Being curious about life gives us more perspective and ultimately humility.

Kindness:  In today’s time, everyone seems to be focused on winning.  And people classify themselves as being part of the winning team.    People seem to be locked into their own needs and positions and rarely do I come across individuals who are willing to put aside their own positions in order to chose to be loving and kind to others.   It’s not always easy and we are taught by society to look out for #1.   Can you win and I win at the same time? We sure can.    But really, it’s not even about the win, but about how you play the game.   Your Dindy has a  little framed saying above her computer desk at home that says, “At the end of the game, the King and the Pawn go back into the same box.”   Treat everyone with love and respect and you will love and respect yourself even more in the end.

Love, Daddy