Blog

SHOES

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you

because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”

Roald Dahl

Happy New Year my friends! Here we are in another January, hopeful and committed to making this year better than ever!

My mother always told me, “If you smile real big, no one will notice your shoes”. While that is somewhat true, there are exceptions. Like for instance, when a candidate I had recruited for a prestigious hospice CEO job went for the interview. I asked the search committee chairwoman how the interview went she replied, “her shoes were scuffed”. That candidate did not make the cut, clearly her smile did not detract from her shoes.

I’ve shopped for shoes from New York City to San Diego and all parts in between. I love beautiful shoes, likely because they were not within my budget...

Someday I Will…

How many times in your life have you said those words, “someday I will…”? When I was young, I dreamed that someday I would see the world, someday I’ll make a difference, someday I’ll have a job I love serving others, and someday I’ll find the love of my life…someday.

As time passed, I stepped into one “someday” after another. When I’d stop long enough to realize I had achieved a goal or had a dream realized, I would have a sense of satisfaction that would last a fleeting moment. Then I would continue to set new dreams, always seeking and stretching to the next “someday I will...”.

The critical difference in this phrase is the declaration of “I WILL…”. It’s not “I want to,” “I hope to,” or “I wish to.” No, it is a firm statement of certainty.  The margarita master Jimmy Buffett wrote a song that has...

The Tilt of Your Axis

It’s December 21, Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere, and today is the darkest day of the year. 

Today is the day when the sun takes a few hours off and, peeks out only for a short stretch. In the Arctic Circle on this day the sun has called in sick and stays in bed all day.

The Solstice is all about the tilt, the tilt of our Earth’s axis in relationship to our elegant dance around the sun.  It’s about a change in the orientation and angles between the Earth and the Sun. The slightest of shifts determines if we receive or deflect the Light.

The slightest shift in our tilt determines if we receive…or deflect…the Light. It’s true with how we see all things, isn’t it? Tilt our head one way and one perspective comes into view, tilt it in another way and a new point of view emerges.

As we in the US navigate during the major holiday season from Thanksgiving to New...

Sacrifice, Resurrection, and Liberation

People all over the globe are celebrating the Holy holidays of Easter and Passover this week.  Celebrations of Sacrifice, Resurrection, and Liberation from oppression.

Today in the spring of 2021 we have had a year of opportunities to experience sacrifice, haven’t we?  Practically everyone on the planet, regardless of their religious/political/economic, or cultural beliefs has sacrificed in some way. 

A sacrifice is a loss or something you give up, usually for the sake of a better cause. Most of us have sacrificed our normal ways of life by staying home and social distancing this year. We have felt the loneliness and isolation of this sacrifice done for the greater good.

There continues to be uncertainty about the future, and frustration about what’s next. But if we step back and look to our ancestors, those who have gone before us, human beings have always made sacrifices for a better...

Shout with joy, it’s spring!!

New beginnings, new birth, and new opportunity. Nature has reminded me that life goes on in spite of the dreary winter or the dreary 2020. The azaleas are in full bloom in my yard and the dogwood trees have bursts of white blooms among their branches.

It’s so easy to get caught up in what’s not right in the world and lose sight of this very moment. This moment right now when you are reading this post is where all your power exists. My past will never be again, and my future has not yet arrived. All I have is right…this…very…moment, with you.

What are you doing? How are you feeling? Who are you with? Where are you sitting or standing? Look around at your surroundings.

Now I want you to focus on something nearby that is lovely or interesting or odd. Something that catches your eye, and then spend 5 extra seconds really looking at it.  an object, a person, a pet, the fuzzy sock on your...

Simply Gratitude

I just got back from a blissful wooded walk. We live in a beautiful rural part of north central Florida with magnolia and oak trees whose limbs are filled with Spanish moss gracefully draping over the branches that reach out parallel to the dirt road we live on. The beauty of the trees and the peace and quiet is a soul soothing experience.

I was feeling grumbly as I started out this morning about Covid and not feeling safe to travel and fly and see new sights and sounds and people.

Poor me, woe is me, it's unfair...to me.

Then I stopped at the far end of the road west of our house and sat on a stump and just sat there in silence for a while. Once I stopped thinking about ME, I began listening to the wind in the trees. It sounded like the beginning of Appalachian Spring the Aaron Copeland symphony.

Then the birds joined in as if they were the flutes and piccolos adding to the complexity of the song. Up from my phone popped a 1 minute audio from the app Waking Up...

Hi everyone,

Well, 2021 hasn't' started out quite as we hoped has it? Just last week I wrote to you these words:

"My commitment to 2021 is to focus on gratitude and compassion, of lifting people up to see their own beauty within and the beauty in others. The time is now for each of us to do our part to inspire another. Whether that is with the simplicity of a smile or a listening ear or a grand gesture of thanks, each action toward that end makes a difference. May 2021 be the year we all find relief and recover, together."

I stand by that commitment and as a way of offering some inspiration, I want to share with you a portion of the poem "The Rock Cries Out To You This Morning" by Maya Angelo. It comforted me this morning and I hope it will do the same for you.

"...Here, root yourselves beside me.

I am the tree planted by the river, Which will not be moved.

I, the rock, I the river, I the tree I am yours--your passages have been paid.

Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need...

THE BEST AND WORST OF TIMES

Here we are, the first week of November 2020, and we have broken two all-time highs: 

• more American's voted in this Presidential election than ever before in the history of our nation and 
• COVID19 cases frighteningly hit all-time highs this week, higher than any time since the pandemic began only nine months ago

To say these are challenging times is a gross understatement. I am reminded of the historical novel A Tale of Two Cities (1859), by Charles Dickens.

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…". 

And now, 160 years later, we still facing similar dilemmas. Half of us say it is a season of Light, and half of us say it is a season of Darkness....