We all like to think of ourselves as extraordinary, exceptional, and  a slew of other superlatives. Is there anyone who wants to feel ordinary, as if they have not accomplished anything of note?

Chances are, since you are reading this, you have indeed achieved a modicum of success. Likely you learned to feed, dress and bathe yourself, read, write, draw and color (even if outside the lines), cook (or at least boil water and stir soup in a pot), ride a bike, sing (even if what you may lack in talent or training, you make up for in enthusiasm), Perhaps you can drive a car, roller blade, climb a tree, speak more than one language,  type rapidly without looking at the keyboard, create beautiful works of art, cook a meal in which the primary ingredient is love, heal with your heart and hands. You may have educational degrees with all kinds of alphabet soup letters after your name to show for it.

I’ve done some of those things and still endeavor to do more. What I treasure even more than my list of achievements are the relationships I have co-created. Those are my treasures and what I most want to remember when my days are numbered.

Last week, I had some medical tests to check out what was going on with my healing ticker. One of them was an echocardiogram that was meant to detect the source of an enlarged pulmonary artery. While awaiting the results, I remained surprisingly calm since there had been a succession of health issues over the past year. I laughed when the report was read to me over the phone. I was told that the findings were ‘unremarkable’. It is the first and maybe only time I am delighted to be or at least have a part of me described in that manner.