Photo credit: BouncebackCafe.com ©2010
We learn from history that we do not learn anything from history.
— Anonymous
With all of the turmoil of sorting through my parent’s stuff, closing up the house and moving Dad into a care facility, lately I’ve been focused on the past. I think that the past will teach us if we choose to learn. Unfortunately, mining the past for lessons can be a little like the old saw about the room full of horse manure: there has to be a pony in there somewhere.
The last time I was at my parent’s house I grabbed several sets of slides. For those of you who are too young to remember, slides were developed from slide film. Instead of printing the picture on photo paper, the image was developed and the film material was sliced up and mounted in a cardboard frame. Slides were much cheaper to process and had a special viewer which projected the image on a screen or a white wall.
Many years ago, I had purchased a Kodak Carousel projector. To see the slides, each one has to be Continue reading » Finding Lessons in Our Past
Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.
— Francesca Reigler
When do we get old? I think we get old when we think that there’s no more possibility of success, that one day’s struggle leads nowhere but to tomorrow’s struggle. And life can do that to you. We all hit rough patches that wear us out. And sometimes we get so worn out that we forget to see the beauty and possibility around us.
Last week I met a young woman with so much energy and hope and promise and possibility that she floored me. Her name is June and she is a:
- Day trader
- Disney character (one of the chipmunks – no, I didn’t ask which one)
- College student
- Ebay vendor
- iPhone application programmer
- Wife
Her goal is to get a college degree and be debt free. She has cobbled together all these ways to earn money to make that dream come true. She is truly inspiring because she has Continue reading » Where Did Our Dreams Go?
Our past is a story existing only in our minds. Look, analyze, understand, and forgive. Then, as quickly as possible, chuck it.
— Marianne Williamson
Are you living a script that you never consciously chose? I find that I’m not actually living the script, but that some part of me wishes that I were.
What my parents wanted for me was a conventional life. To them, conventional equaled safe. And safe equaled going to a “good” college, and getting a “good” job. Dad probably assumed that I’d get married, but Mom was so unhappy that she hoped that I wouldn’t. At that point, she thought that happiness meant being Continue reading » Recreating Our Stories
What are your stories and how can you extend the gift of hope to others who are struggling?
The wonderful thing about Tiggers, is Tiggers are wonderful things. Their tops are made out of rubber. Their bottoms are made out of springs. They’re bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy. Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun. But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is – I’m the only one!
Last week while visiting the maternity floor of our local hospital, I delighted in the joyful whispers and grins of new grandparents, the anxious and weary exchanges of new moms & dads, the lusty squalling of new babes, and the quiet calm of nurses dispensing words of wisdom.
And, after rejoicing that I didn’t have to take any of these bundles of joy home to my house, I indulged in a little nostalgia and recalled the sheer terror I felt (four decades ago) knowing that very soon the little mysterious babe in my arms would depend on me for her daily needs. Inadequate doesn’t begin to describe my sense of self.
And then a nurse’s murmur brought me out of my reverie as she said, “All mothers… Continue reading » NOT the Only One!
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