A Cheerful Impact – Tom Finneran
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the MA House
The conversation goes back to either New Year’s Day or to the following day, January 2nd, , of this now infamous year. At the time, no one could foresee what lay in store for us as a yet unknown virus napped in a Wuhan, China laboratory. That virus, once woken, has travelled the world and has not yet been put back to sleep.
It was 5:00 AM and I was at the gym. The usual banter with gym buddies was, for this day at least, centered around New Year’s resolutions.
There were of course the old stand-by resolutions----more exercise, less television, more reading, less meat, more vegetables, less stress. And there was an interesting balance between more drinking and less drinking, a tie if you will between healthy imbibing and healthy restraint.
Most novel and most notable of all the resolutions was a buddy’s utterance of his desire and determination to “have a cheerful impact” in the New Year. Those words have stayed with me for these past several months as a perfect encapsulation of a meaningful resolution.
Such a resolution creates an obligation in the promissor, a meaningful effort to overcome the negativity and cynicism of our times. And it forces the promissor to think of others in his quest to impart a helpful, cheerful impact.
A helpful cheerful impact---isn’t that what we all want to provide for our family, friends, neighbors, and community? Come to think of it, isn’t that what we want for the whole world?
It suggests a wholesome concern for others, devoid of selfishness and ripe with kindness. It suggests a determination to find a silver lining in life’s clouds and to share those silver linings with those whose eyes are cast down.
Admittedly, the world can be a cold cruel place. It can be hard to keep up with man’s inhumanity to man. The deadly crimes, the sharp elbows, the cruel libels, and the ignorant slanders against good and decent people are seen throughout history. One need not dwell upon the Hitlers and the Stalins of the world to become callous and indifferent.
How much better it is to dwell on the kind and considerate actions of those who heal the sick, help the poor, and feed the children. A quick visit to a house-bound elderly neighbor can mean a great deal to her as an action with cheerful impact. It certainly tops the latest rants of CNN, Fox News, and all the other shouting hucksters of the world. It seems so much better to go forth each day, carrying that cheerful impact in your back pocket, to be shared as the opportunity arises in a very needy world.
A cheerful impact! Such a happy thought. I like my friend’s resolution.
Happy New Year!!
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