Memorial Day Weekend is the season kickoff for many beaches, campgrounds and summer destinations. These spots come alive with friends and families connecting.  And then of course there are the positively anticipated, annual Memorial Day barbecues and backyard gatherings. This is all good, but I would like to ask for something more from my fellow Americans.

May I suggest that while you share your smile, your laughter and the best version of yourself this weekend, that you take a moment to reconnect with the purpose of this holiday? That when you’re enjoying your cold beer, the smell of the steaks on your grill, and laughing with friends that you take a moment to do these things from a different and more mindful place?

Would you please take a moment to acknowledge the thousands of families who, at that very same moment you’re freely laughing, sipping a cold one or flipping your steak, they are minus one, or more, of their family members because of the sacrifice their loved ones made to uphold these beautiful freedoms we mindlessly take for granted each year?

Please do not shadow that moment with your shame or guilt over missing the meaning of this holiday. And please, no grandstanding, no hypocritical promises or BS. Just take one silent, FOCAL, moment in the positive to acknowledge LIFE.  And let that moment have a profound resonance of gratitude for all who have laid down their lives in order for you to enjoy this moment right now.

We use words like love, respect and gratitude without the actions behind them. Let us no longer be asleep to the bittersweet beauty of family and freedom. So, today I humbly request that you exercise a mindful approach to Memorial Day.

In honor of those who sacrificed their life for the lives of many ….