Our doubts are traitors, and make use lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt. ~William Shakespeare Always do what you are afraid to do. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Last week was the first week of school. We spent the week like most families - absolutely frantic with meetings and school supply sales … Continue reading The simple power of raising your hand
Once you choose hope, anything is possible. ~Christopher Reeve I dwell in possibility. ~Emily Dickenson Listen to the must’nts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’t, the impossible, the won’t. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me … Anything can happen, child. Anything can be. ~Shel Silverstein. August is upon … Continue reading Shake a Little Secret Sauce on Your Week: Hope, Reprised
The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted. ~Georg Christoph Lichetenberg This weekend was awash with stories of people fleeing for their lives. Some were school supply shopping at a Wal-mart. Some were outside on a summer Saturday night. Just going about their lives, when suddenly life as they knew it ... ended. It's so … Continue reading Isn’t the kaleidoscope pretty?
You have been created in order that you might make a difference. You have within you the power to change the world. -Andy Andrews Yesterday I watched a video of Elizabeth Warren. (Full disclosure: It totally made me cry.) Sitting there in my office (well, the converted attic of our house, which is perpetually too … Continue reading A Flock of Butterflies…
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door. ~Emma Lazarus The greatest nations are defined by how they treat their weakest inhabitants. ~Jorge Ramos Remember high school? It was probably … Continue reading Can We Keep the Golden Door Open?
If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. ~Dalai Lama I'm a person of action. I'll bet you are too. So when I woke up this morning at … Continue reading I Call It Action Therapy
Success is achieved by ordinary people with extraordinary determination. ~Zig Ziglar One of the most common sources of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. ~Napoleon Hill Yesterday, I sat in a packed-to-capacity union hall, listening to former Missouri Senator, Claire McCaskill, who lost her seat in 2018 after … Continue reading It’s All Doable – If We Work Together
Patriotism (noun): devotion to and vigorous support for one's country Here we are, just days before the Fourth of July. Flags. Fireworks. Parades with smiling politicians and candy-throwers. But there are cracks beneath that cheerful veneer. You've seen the stories, haven't you? The treatment of asylum-seekers at the border, and at the "detention facilities" they're … Continue reading How to be a patriot in 2019
"[L]ook for magic moments. ... [T]hink of the things that are magic moments that happen to you, like sunsets and sunrises, rainbows, beautiful birds, music and people’s lovely comments to you. All of those are magic moments and they are free for all. Be sure to keep your eye open for them." Julia Hawkins, 103-year-old … Continue reading In Pursuit of Magic
When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven. ~Harriet Tubman She stood at just five feet, … Continue reading There’s Power in Everyone. There’s Power in You.
Small Deeds Done 