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Funny Friday: fashion advice
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” ~Mark Twain
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Following your inner compass: “The Journey”
“And there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own.” — Mary Oliver The greatest gift of maturing is finding your own power and discovering who you are meant to be — not what others think you should be or want you to be. But the road to authenticity isn’t without obstacles. Mary Oliver’s “The Journey” gives us a new map. It’s one of my all-time favorite poems and has become a personal anthem. A great poem reminds us that the personal is universal, and this one brings shivers of recognition each time I read it aloud in my writing workshops. –CL THE JOURNEYBy Mary Oliver One…
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Be proactive
“It’s better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.” ~Jackie Joyner Kersee, Olympic medalist I’m bracing for what’s going to be the most stressful and polarizing presidential election we’ve witnessed in our lifetime. Though I don’t feel I’ve done enough to support my candidate, I’ve tried to do something, to the best of my ability and resources. I’ve put a sign on my lawn, donated money, and invited an equally motivated group of neighbors to write postcards and letters at my dining room table. I’ve read and shared informative articles from reputable, respected sources with friends around the country, who’ve shared theirs with me, in turn.…
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Living in the past?
“Nostalgia is also a dangerous form of comparison. Think about how often we compare our lives to a memory that nostalgia has so completely edited that it never really existed.” ~Brene Brown Psychologists believe acute nostalgia is a symptom of growing old — but I’m not so sure that’s true. I’ve been nostalgic since I was a kid. I’ve always preferred old houses and items with a history, and I find comfort in rereading passages from favorite novels with nostalgic themes. But I know there’s real danger in viewing the past through rose-colored lenses. We might long for a return to certain periods in history, assuming that life was somehow…
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Nobody wins the waiting game
“You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” ~A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh Someone I know often complains that she rarely hears from some of her old friends and relatives. They’ve stopped calling to invite her out for lunch and other social activities. She’s sure she hasn’t “done anything” to deserve this neglect. Why have these people gone dark on her? Well, she’s right about the part where she said she hasn’t done anything. When I asked if she ever reaches out to initiate activities or simply keep in touch, she admitted that she rarely does. She…
