A deep lesson of gratitude from our CEO, ahead of the holidays

I have shared this story before. It bears repeating...Many times...

“I learned a deep lesson in gratitude from a poor South African woman, named Mary, whose life was filled with hardship," Erickson Coach International CEO, Louise Hendey, writes. "It was from her that I learned that gratitude is like being a billionaire of the heart."
 
"We have all heard of South Africa’s dark Apartheid history.  Many people do not know all the gory details of Apartheid, but at its heart was a belief that black people were the inferior race and were not capable of doing anything more than basic labor jobs, often as 'servants' for white people. To this end, as a result of their deep oppression, black women had to leave their own children to raise white children in homes gilted with the opulence of a race stealing the dignity of another."  
  
"Mary was one of these women; a second mother to our children, while we went out to chase our career dreams. She cleaned our house and loved our children as if they were her own. Mary was paid well for her station in life, but still it was never enough to fundamentally change the trajectory of her life. She suffered. Can you imagine what it must be like to live in a world overflowing with all you can never have? Yet, she accepted, she shared, laughed, she shone joy every day."

Mary was a billionaire of the heart

“At the age of 50, Mary met a man, named Andries. Mary had a new boyfriend.  She was beaming. He would come to visit her in his 1968 car taped together. Andries was a kind man, but he was not a faithful one. And years later, Mary got sick with AIDS.  Anti-retroviral treatment was not an option yet. Soon it was clear that Mary’s humble and servant-filled heart would beat its last breath of love."

"In the last conversation I had with Mary on the phone, as I imagined she lay withering away in her little home shack where she chose to die, she said, 'Louise, I want to say thank you to you for holding me in your hands. You have taken care of me like a mother and my life was happy because of you'.” 

My heart almost stopped

“Here I was, in my luxury life, grappling with frustrations and my own dreams. I had not yet connected with a deeper purpose. Mary, who had so little and every reason to feel bitter for the life she had been dealt, had nothing but gratitude in her heart. It was truly a turning point in my life. I realized that no riches matter more than what is in your heart. It is being a billionaire of the heart that truly matters in life." 
 
"As 2024 draws to a  close, I wish you joy, love and your wildest dreams as you move consciously into another year ahead.  Mostly, whatever challenges you have faced this past year, I hope that you will put your attention on all that you have to be grateful for. That is where our true wealth lies."

Warm holiday wishes,

Louise Hendey

CEO, Erickson Coaching International