Human Understanding

As financial advisors and wealth managers, one might expect a preoccupation with money. But financial planning is a people business, and human values must transcend material concerns. I recently came across a poignant statement of human understanding from a book, “Captain Newman, M.D.” written by Leo Rosten. His reflections may be even more meaningful today and I would like to share them with you for your own special meanings.

“In some way, however small and secret, each of us is a little mad…Everyone is lonely at the bottom and cries to be understood; but we can never entirely understand someone else, and each of us remains part stranger even to those who love us.

It is the weak who are cruel; gentleness is to be expected from the strong…Those who do not know fear are not really brave, for courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined.

You can understand people better if you look at them – no matter how old or impressive they may be – as if they are children. For most of us never mature; we simply grow taller…

Happiness comes only when we push our brains and hearts to the farthest reaches of which we are capable…The purpose of life is to matter – to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all”

We appreciate all those we have had the opportunity to reach a level of human understanding and look forward to many more years of service.