As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States this coming week, a recent trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania reinforced the importance of being thankful in my life…

As a kid, I remember seeing writing and drawings on public walls, buildings, rail cars, barns, water towers, bridges… even in bathroom stalls! This imagery, artistic lettering, interesting shapes and sometimes brilliant colors, I came to learn was called “graffiti”, a form of artistic expression usually done without permission but intentionally placed within public view as a “message” to the world.

Some graffiti invokes emotions of love, peace and friendship while others suggest fear, hate and death in its messaging and visualization. Subjective by nature and at the sole discretion of a usually “unknown” artist, there was sometimes mystery in the method used to access the high or remote spot the “message” was placed. This method of communication existed in the world long before blogs like this and the internet (No, the internet didn’t always exist!); and has a unique way of capturing our hearts and minds even today.

Recently while visiting Pittsburgh to see my daughter play volleyball, I invited Steve, one of the other dads that made the trip from Massachusetts, to join me in my 6am morning walk before the games began that day. Plus, as a Steelers fan, I’ll use any excuse to take people around the city and to the stadium while I am there. #GoBlackAndYellow

He agreed, so we met in the hotel lobby at 5:45am. It was still dark. The city hadn’t even woken up yet. It was calm and surprisingly quiet.We stepped onto the street and headed for the walking path near the David L. Lawrence Convention Center along the Allegheny River towards Heinz Field and snapped a picture. As we walked, we began talking about our daughter’s volleyball journey, our families, our faith, our lives, and the impact the meaning we give to life’s ups and downs has on our mindset. Most of all, we talked about how blessed we were and how grateful we felt to be alive.

As we crossed one of the many yellow bridges (6th street bridge in this case), we could see lightening coming from an amazing cloud formation in the distance near Heinz Field and stopped to immerse ourselves in the moment. Then proceeded to West General Robinson Street to walk by several Steelers landmarks. On our way back, I adjusted the route to walk through Point State Park to see the huge water foundation and the incredible view of Heinz Field from across the river.

As the sun began to rise, a beautiful pink color illuminated the sky highlighting the water and bridges as we headed back. We paused in amazement, captivated by its color, and beauty…taking a picture as it slowly faded.

It had been a great morning of discussion, connection and sightseeing but what would come next was unexpected and would prove to be symbolic of the day, our trip and the bond we built that morning together. As we walked under the final bridge towards the hotel, we began to see graffiti. Mostly jagged shapes and dark colors with no obvious meaning, then suddenly one caught our attention. It was written in black spray paint on a cracked pillar near an old dirty drain. No bright colors or fancy lettering. Just a neatly handwritten message with a simple yet profound statement. A reminder for all of us and a suggestion for how to live our lives:

“10 Minutes of Gratitude a Day”

We stopped and stared in silence. Then looked at each other, smiled and laughed out loud (LOL). We were both thinking the same thing! After a morning of getting to know each other and sharing our lives, this seemed too coincidental. We acknowledged that although our faith interpretation may be different (he’s Jewish , I am Catholic) we agreed that a “higher power” was at work that morning, bringing us together on a universal truth: daily gratitude is important. We had our picture taken in front of the “message” to capture the moment and reinforce the importance of gratitude in our own lives as well as in the lives of those we would share this story with.

I’ve returned to this spot several times since that day, sharing it with my wife and family, and in my blog. And although I do not condone graffiti without permission, I am grateful for this encounter and have even added it to the list of “sightseeing” spots whenever I visit Pittsburgh now. This experience made me more aware than ever of the importance, power and perspective daily gratitude can bring to my life.

In fact, gratitude, like graffiti, can be “found” anytime, anywhere, or anyplace if we seek it. It is personal and subjective, and can sometimes be misunderstood, illusive or overlooked. Its “message” can even be found where we least expect it….like along a river, under a bridge, near an old, rusty drain with a new friend…

How about you? Where have you found gratitude when you least expected it?

Happy Thanksgiving!

The weather was perfect for a Fall weekend in the Northeast. Crisp. Calm. Blue sky. Partly sunny. Just perfect.

As I set out for my afternoon run, I made sure I was more colorful than the changing landscape around me….bright orange shirt and light blue shorts. It wasn’t a fashion statement, but more a safety precaution to ensure that drivers could see me as I ran along the side of a country road.

Living in a rural area, traffic was expected to be light except for a 1/2 mile stretch where the shoulder is narrow and cars travel at 55 mph. This section always creates a heightened sense of awareness and anxiety for me, but over the years I’ve gotten use to it.

As I made the left turn onto the busier part of the route, the sun was bright and the upcoming blind corner suddenly revealed a vehicle coming my way. At first, I wasn’t too concerned, as traffic was expected. But as the vehicle got closer, it’s trajectory began to change…drifting gradually towards the side of the road, in my direction. As I continued forward, I felt paralyzed, helpless, and unsure what to do. Slowly, its tires pierced the white line onto the shoulder where I was and I could hear the gravel being struck. I quickly moved further off the shoulder into the ditch of tall grass, as the car seemed to accelerate in my direction. I was out of time and space…the car was upon me.

Time seemed to freeze as I looked into the passenger window. I could see the driver, what they were doing, the color of their eyes and hair, their expression and an approximate age. Suddenly, the driver saw me, realized the imminent danger and jerked the wheel sharply, returning to their lane. Disaster averted. Thank God.

It started and ended in a blink of an eye. In fact, it happened so fast I didn’t have “time for my life to flash in front of my eyes” or react much at all. I was numb. I had no anger. No fear. Nothing. All I felt was a sense of relief and gratitude that both the driver and I were safe, and that I couldn’t wait to get home and see my family to share this experience.

As a sat later, recalling and retelling the story, I purposely excluded the age, sex, make and model of the vehicle , and what the driver was doing because none of that was the real point. In fact, it wasn’t about one specific person, place, type or thing. It’s simply about the risk of distracted driving…whatever the cause. Distracted driving injures almost 400,000 a year and is to blame for at least 8% of fatal car accidents. It comes in many “shapes and sizes” performed by many different demographics. In the end, all distracted driving is dangerous and applies to everyone. It may include eating, drinking beverages, talking on the phone, reading, texting, applying makeup, watching videos, taking pictures or changing music as a few examples. All of these activities can distract us just long enough to miss seeing a child waiting for a school bus, an animal crossing the street or in my case, a runner along the side the road.

The reality is, that driver could have been me. That’s right, I am embarrassed to admit that I too am guilty of distracted driving at times. I won’t go into the details but admit this experience has forced me to look at my own driving behavior and the risks distracted driving poses to myself, my family and others. It also prompted me share this story to raise awareness that we all must “wait” and avoid any distracting behavior that could cause harm to ourselves and others while driving.

A highway sign I later saw stated it perfectly:

“Whatever it is…It can wait.”

Join me in “waiting”.