Yesterday I attended the funeral of a dedicated public servant, more specifically a dedicated “public safety” public servant. Greg Orth, retired police chief / public safety director for the city of Woodbury and current county commissioner tragically died in an accidental fall last week. At 60 years old, he died way too young. The funeral was a wonderful celebration of a man dedicated to the mission “To Protect and Serve”. I did not personally know Chief Orth, I only knew of his dedicated service, and yesterday I learned a little about his personal life.

The message I want to give you today is the gift I received from the homily Father William Martin gave yesterday. He said “Don’t ask why Greg died, because that’s a question no one can answer.” But he followed with the question: “Let’s ask, ‘Why did he live?’ Now there is a question we can answer!” And then came the stories of a man who lived, who lived a life of service, who lived a life protecting.

So today, don’t spend a lot of time asking questions that cannot be answered, at least not here on earth. Instead ask yourself how you can live, how to live a life of service and care and kindness. Ask yourself “Why do you live?”

Take Care!

I had a nice conversation with a retired police officer yesterday. It was the first time we met and we both shared several stories of our careers, retirements, experiences. He told me a story about a conversation he had with an older cop when he was just starting out.

The old cop made reference to the newness of the young recruits leather. He said, “It still squeaks when you move doesn’t it? Well one day the leather won’t squeak and you’ll have a lot of days on the job. It won’t be as new and exciting as it is today. One thing you need to remember. Today, and actually every day, you will deal with someone who is probably having the worst day of his or her life. To you it will be just another day on the job, but it will be that person’s worst day. So don’t underestimate the importance of showing that person some compassion”.

I paraphrased this story a little bit, and my new friend doesn’t remember who first shared it with him. But even though I can’t give credit to its originator, I think it is a critical message for all of us in the professions to remember as we go about our daily responsibilities. Our jobs require that we be and act strong, principled, forceful, determined, safe. That we protect. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t also take on those responsibilities remembering words like kindness, gentleness and compassion.

Today I give thanks for the opportunity to hear these stories and pass them on for the benefit of others.

Take Care!