Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, has been commemorated in America since 1868. Before that, there is evidence of decorating graves of Civil War dead and loved ones. Source: Patriotism in Action, page 110 (www.PatriotismInAction.us).

Meaning and Mission for us after Memorial Day

When you paused to remember on Memorial Day, what did you think? Did you remember the sacrifices of our military? Did you think of loved ones? Did you think of any who died young? Virtually all who died in combat died young.

I recommend pausing to listen and write what inspiration or advice a loved one who died young might have for you. Do you hear encouragement to plan for a better life? To live with more commitment or courage?

Recently, I traveled 5,000 miles to re-adopt a horse after one of the owners contracted Parkinson’s Disease. Logically, someone else closer to the horse could have taken her though for several reasons I needed to make the trip. Something deep inside was stirring, and I needed for “calling” to win over “logical thinking.” My friend and co-founder of Life Leaders helped me make the decision, even though Johnny died young in 2001. Thinking of him and my grandfather reminded me that we should “go for it” with callings because we may have limited time.

When you think of a friend or loved one who has passed, what inspired action comes to mind to start today? A bucket list goal? A reminder to live with courage?

On Memorial Day, did you feel appreciation for our military? Because of the Freedom of Liberty provided for us, are we taking action to make those sacrifices count? Because we won WWII, we in America were able to have a Civil Rights Movement, with more sacrifice. Now that we have Freedom of Liberty and Rights, are we honoring our Freedom to Flourish at our own callings to be and to serve? If you want to honor those who died for our freedoms, I suggest developing your Plan for Life and Best-Self Leadership. Outlining what is important to you and what you should do can add inspiration and focus. Outlining how you do your best can improve the process of how you live and likely will improve actions and results.

Many military and civilians who died young would wish for our opportunity to identify callings and pursue them as well as develop our character and competence. What will we do to honor the memory of those who made it possible?