While having lunch with family members, I was reminded of my four L’s of being here.

Not wanting to pontificate too much, I’ll keep this short. However, I just walked by a fellow I can’t ignore. Why? Because I find him slightly irritating.

The fellow in question is what I’ll call an itinerant preacher man. Almost every Sunday afternoon, he stands at a very busy intersection and yells his faith to the passing cars. I’m not sure what he expects to accomplish since there’s so much traffic noise nobody can hear him. Yet, he’s exercising his freedom of speech, and I give him that.

What’s that fellow got to do with the four L’s? Well, the number one L of mine is to listen. Sitting with the family at lunch, I made it a point to listen to them. They bring a unique sense of information I don’t possess. So I encourage all of us to listen to our conversations, to listen to your favorite music, to listen to nature and to learn from all of these interactions.

The second L is to look. As you converse with someone, look into their eyes — they are telling you something. While sitting with a local nonprofit director, we were discussing the possibility of some cost sharing with another civic entity. The topic of discussion was deep, and by looking into the director’s eyes, I could read the passion she had for the topic. In the same manner, look at the world around you. It’s in constant movement, and many moments of inspiration are short lived.

The third L is love. I wouldn’t go on much about this third L because love is deeply personal. All I ask is that we love all aspects of life — different thoughts, different people, different opinions and different actions. Loving them doesn’t mean we have to accept them, but it shows respect.

And finally, the fourth L. Linger over your interactions of the day. Perhaps at night, go over all the good things that happened during the preceding hours. Embrace them…

So today, I’ll have a glass of Dark Horse Merlot. I’ll listen to it as it’s poured into my glass. I’ll look at the rich color of the wine. I’ll love the flavors, and I’ll linger over the pleasantness of the wine.

May your day be filled with the four L’s. And by the way, always listen to yourself, look at yourself, love yourself and linger on the goodness within you.

As always, eat and drink in moderation, but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!