It’s Still Beautiful

This transformation we are enduring is painful, 

But we are not falling apart.

We are just falling into something different,

With a new capacity to be better than we were.

My grandparents and parents faced the challenges of the Great Depression and World War II.  Today, we are facing equally compelling challenges, and as in the past, witnessing a nation’s perseverance.   First responders, medical personnel and so many others are putting their own lives in jeopardy to treat and save others. 

A Thursday Morning Thought

The Thought

This week has been filled with many moments of darkness that have sought to overtake my mind and create an attitude of despair and hopelessness.  But it has also given me the opportunity to look at my life, see all the good in it, and realize how lucky I am.

As you wrestle with your own darkness, take time to understand your vulnerabilities.  Identify what is hurting or frightening you, and seek to understand why it is bad, why it hurts, or why it frightens you. 

A Better Tomorrow

You have power over your mind – 

Not outside events.

Realize this and you will find strength

                                                                                                     – Marcus Aurelius

It was 1962 and I was in 6th grade.  I have vague memories of sitting at the desk in my bedroom completing homework assignments, while my parents were downstairs in the living room watching President John F. Kennedy’s Cuban Missile Crisis Speechin which he announced the implementation of a strict quarantine halting the shipment of offensive military equipment to Cuba. 

Don’t Let the Old Man In

“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, 
to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.”

Each year, Clint Eastwood hosts the 3M Celebrity Challenge at Pebble Beach Golf Links.  Two years ago, country superstar Toby Keith was lucky enough to share a golf cart with the Hollywood legend.  Keith recounts a discussion during which the 88 year old Eastwood shared that he would soon begin work on a new movie entitled, The MuleThe Eastwood-directed and starring film, is based on the true story of a WWII veteran in his 90s who takes a job as a courier for a Mexican drug cartel. 

A Purposeful Why

I am purposeful in how I present myself to the world.
I want my ideas to be taken seriously,
and so I present myself in a way
that allows people to see me
and listen to what I have to say.

                                                                                                          -Marley Dias

In 2009 Simon Sinek introduced us to the concept of “WHY” with his Ted talk, “Start with Why – How Great Leaders Inspire Action” It started a movement; Sinek’s talk became the second most viewed YouTube video of all time with over 50 million hits.