Lenore “Libby” Salz
1919 – 2008
My mom loved butterflies. Her favorite color was yellow, the color of sunshine.
She embodied these elements. Full of light she flitted lightly, energetically, easily through life.
When it comes to the South, she was my original and remains my greatest teacher. If there is any one direction I most hope to model and encourage in my children, it is the qualities of the South: Kindness. Joy. Wonder. Enthusiasm. Passion. Innovation. Creativity. Innocence. Vitality. Playfulness.
And magic.
By magic I mean the capacity to imagine and to wonder, the prerequisites for delighting in the miracles of daily life we so easily overlook. What is the hallmark of truly great men and women? Want to know how wise someone is? How they will fare in the face if the harshest adversity?
Just observe: How often do they laugh, smile? Do their eyes twinkle?
Whenever I have had the honor of meeting any of the great adventurers of our time - be they scientist like two time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling or the legendary climber/explorer Eric Shipton - I have discovered one trait in common: great people love to play. From their unique ‘mountain-top perspective’ how miniscule most worries appear. They are fearless and therefore filled with near limitless energy. An adventurous attitude - informed by a spirit of play - is the nemesis of fear.
It is embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one’s life and find at the end that one had not more to offer by way of advice than ‘try to be a little kinder’.
- Aldous Huxley
The other defining attribute of the South is kindness. Above all else my Mom taught me kindness. Not through words but by example. I observed her being kind to everyone, especially those from whom by whose favor we could gain no real advantage.
These last years, in my role of executive trainer and speaker, I have occasionally been graced with the opportunity to work within organizations where generosity of spirit is the modus operandi. There is no
work-place more innovative, no workforce no more motivated than one where fear is absent and kindness for kindness sake rules the day.
A month ago to the day, my mom passed.
After leaving her deathbed at the hospital, I dropped my dad off at his apartment to take care of an errand. It was a drizzly day in south Florida. Still, I needed some time alone to say goodbye to Mom. Errand complete, I walked from my car toward a lone bench beneath a tree in a green area behind the industrial park.
I perched on the bench and looked up at the sky. As I spoke to my mom a curious energy coursed through me. The rain had stopped. Suddenly a patch of blue appeared. Bright beams of sunlight burst through the clouds. A solitary butterfly flitted from a tree and appeared before me.
A yellow butterfly danced before my eyes.
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