Adventure and exploration
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Star therapy
“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll bet they’d live a lot differently.” ~Bill Watterson, cartoonist One of my favorite late-summer pleasures is star-gazing on a crystal-clear night. This is more easily accomplished when I’m visiting the west or northwest side of Michigan — the Third Coast, as I like to call it. In the beach towns along Lake Michigan, you’ll find less industrial pollution and more opportunities to spot the constellations. But I’ll watch the stars anywhere. When I do, I always recover my sense of awe and wonder, and the troubles of the day seem so much smaller in starlit perspective. ~CL
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The keys to discovery
“When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” ~Alexander Graham Bell Have you ever been so stuck on a frustrating problem or project that you missed a few good opportunities in the meantime? Sometimes we have to accept the fact that something isn’t working — whether it’s a product that isn’t right for us, a career we’ve outgrown, or a dead-end relationship. Giving up on something after you’ve given it your best effort doesn’t always mean you’ve failed. As today’s quote reminds us, great inventors like…
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Different gifts
“We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.” ~Fred Rogers Some people enjoy standing out in a crowd. Others are more comfortable blending into the background. Some people express their love through cooking and serving meals, while others declare their feelings in heartfelt letters. Still others express themselves through photographs, fashion, pottery, needlework, or watercolor paintings. As Mister Rogers reminds us, everyone has “different gifts” that show who they are. Just for fun, make a list of your own gifts and those of the people in your life. ~CL
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Vacation
“It is always our own self that we find at the end of the journey. The sooner we face that self, the better.” ~Ella Maillart, travel writer For most of us, to go on a vacation means to “vacate” our place of residence and our routines. We might go in search of adventure or excitement, or to experience something different. We might look for something new to learn. Or we might retreat quietly for rest and reflection. In doing so, we learn more about ourselves — what matters to us; what we want from life. I think the best vacations send us home feeling refreshed, renewed, and even changed for…
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Your own footsteps
“It’s not your job to curb or contain yourself in order to become someone else’s idea of a worthwhile human being. You are amazingly worthwhile and capable right now. Not because other people think you are, but because you are in full control of the next step you take.” ~Marc and Angel Chernoff When I was in college, several of my professors wanted me to consider law school. Becoming a lawyer was a more dependable and lucrative path for my writing and communication skills, they advised. At least more lucrative than working as a journalist. Law wasn’t my career dream, of course, and you wouldn’t be reading this today had…
