IMG_1404I am a huge Apple fan. My husband finally understood the depth of my love for him one day when I declared, “Alex, I love you more than my Mac!”

I admired Steve Jobs for his genius and innovative spirit, but more than anything, I respected him for never giving up. In a commencement speech he gave at Stanford University in 2005, he talked about “connecting the dots” and seeing the opportunities in all of life’s setbacks, including death.

He said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

When we are caring for someone who is aged, chronically ill or disabled, we can’t know what lies ahead. But we can trust that we’ll have the strength, the courage and the ability to do what needs to be done.

At some point we will be able to connect the dots by reflecting back on how our love, commitment and work not only impacted the lives of others, but also on how the challenges we faced honed our own spirit and made us grow in beautiful and unexpected ways.

If you want to be inspired, take 15 minutes and watch Steve Jobs’ 15 minute commencement address. Here’s the link: http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die