THOUGHTS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

 I guess you can say I am a pushover for sentiment during the Holiday Season.  Note I use capital letters when I refer to this time of year because I think we all tend to be reflective not only about the past year, but also of the gifts we give to those we love and those gifts we receive from others.  I wanted to share an excerpt from a letter I received from our terrific friend and associate, Clara Mayer, our Director of Marketing.  She is a SURVIVOR!  She has fought off two bouts of catastrophic illness but still has a tremendous outlook.  Those that have the privilege to spend time with her can feel it.

With her permission to share this with all of you, I wanted to pass on her words about adversity and thankfulness.  I apologize to those of you who are not religious, as I realize that the mention of a divinity can be polarizing, but I think the unedited version is the best.  So here goes.

“I remember you and I sitting in your garage talking - you asked me why I had taken adversity and turned into a gift... What was inside of me that drove my desire of being a better person."

The answer is... DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

It's really three things:

1. ADVERSITY made me take a look at what worked and what did not in my life. At the end of my life, I didn't want to say that I wished I could have been a better ..... Mother, daughter, sister, woman, friend, lover, teacher, etc. So let's call adversity the interruption I needed to take inventory of my life and be truthful with myself.

2. I was ok, regardless of my situation... I was alive TODAY!  The end no longer scared me because the adversity in my life had shown me a bigger purpose, full of meaning. And most importantly, I had a vision - at last - of who I wanted to be to myself and to the people I love in my life - You being one of them!

3. My faith!  I'm not religious, but I know my purpose could only bring me closer to God. And that when I listened, really listened, I would find my way through life being able to recognize the messages from the universe. I'm open, therefore I'm always the student. His student - your student - my daughters student. After all, you guys have taught me more than I could ever teach you.”

So in the spirit of the Holiday Season, I want to declare two things:

I am grateful to our clients, associates and team members who teach me and my partners more than we could ever teach them.

I am thankful for the opportunity being in all of your lives and for the great gifts that have been provided to me, my partners and our families. 

We, at Rose, Snyder & Jacobs wish all of you the most peaceful and relaxing Holiday Season you can possibly have and look forward to serving, working and being with all of you in the coming year.