As you know, it’s rare for me to have a guest post. (Perhaps because I’m a control freak. Perhaps because I love the ‘sound’ of my own voice. Perhaps because—as my friend Katherine says, ‘I could talk a dog off a meat truck’– feel free to decide or discuss amongst yourselves…)

That said, I was struck this week by a piece my friend Jamie sent me titled “Always go to the Funeral.” The point the author, Deirdre Sullivan, made that stuck with me was:

“In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn’t been good versus evil. It’s hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good versus doing nothing.” 

(For the complete text—which I highly recommend—clickhere.)

As Ms. Sullivan says, “Always go to the funeral” means that I have to do the right thing when I really, really don’t feel like it. I have to remind myself of it when I could make some small gesture, but I don’t really have to and I definitely don’t want to. I’m talking about those things that represent only inconvenience to me, but the world to the other guy. You know, the painfully under-attended birthday party. The hospital visit during happy hour. The Shiva call for one of my ex’s uncles. In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn’t been good versus evil. It’s hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good versus doing nothing.”

I get that—and I’m guessing you do, too—and found it to be such a good reminder of the importance of doing those things “that are only an inconvenience to me but mean the world to the other guy,” that I thought I’d send it along.

Frances Cole Jones