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Really, it’s OK to be wrong
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” ~Anonymous One-uppers, control freaks, critics, and perfectionists always top my list of pet peeves. Afraid to look foolish, these are the rigid folks who rarely color outside the proverbial lines. They like to point out the crooked seams on your brand-new outfit, for example, or correct your errors in public. Always right, they aim to win every argument. I bet you know a few of them too — and would agree they’re a lot less fun to be around. The fear of being wrong, or appearing wrong, is a buzz kill for just about everything. Today’s quote…
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Looking on the bright side
“Every sunrise gives you a new beginning and a new ending. Let this morning be a new beginning to a better relationship and a new ending to the bad memories. It’s an opportunity to enjoy life, breathe freely, think and love. Be grateful for this beautiful day.” ~Norton Juster, children’s book author I usually try to avoid cornball positivity when I choose quotes for Life Lines. All of us have demons of various shapes and sizes to battle, and throwing pink paint or motivational pap on our problems doesn’t help. Sometimes it’s easier to adapt to the general negativity that clouds the atmosphere lately. But today’s quote struck a chord…
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Spring blooms
“Giving flowers is a disarming way to remember another person, but flowers were first a gift from nature to all of us. They look beautiful, they smell beautiful, and they make us feel beautiful.” Victoria Moran, Younger by the Day This week I spotted a hyacinth and a miniature daffodil starting to bloom in my garden — the first of the spring bulbs to surface this season — so much earlier than usual. Like some of the other bulbs scattered around our yard, the hyacinth was an Easter gift, years ago, and I’m always delighted and amazed to see it reappear every spring. Flowers are living symbols of perseverance and…
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Keep calm and carry on
“Don’t Panic.” ~ Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Yesterday was one of those days. I spent four hours working on a new 800-word column, only to watch it completely disappear from my computer monitor when I accidentally hit the wrong key. Gone. Totally gone. All my attempts to retrieve the piece failed; I couldn’t “undo” whatever I did to zap it. It didn’t help that I’d been rushing because I was scheduled to visit my cardiologist for a follow-up EKG later that afternoon. (I was sure everything would be off the charts, thanks to the morning’s calamity.) But I took a deep breath. I thought of the British meme,…
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Small treats and rituals
“One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.” ~Iris Murdoch Every night after we finish dinner, Doug and I fill our mugs with tea and head for our favorite chairs to watch the evening news on TV. It’s a ritual that our dog, Coco, happily anticipates — because we always reward her with a handful of dog biscuits if she finished her dinner, too. Watching her savor each and every crunchy bite never fails to bring me joy. Sometimes we set our goals too high, deluding ourselves into thinking that happiness depends on attaining a huge win or reward. But as today’s quote reminds us, it’s…
