being better

Slow Down

“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” ~Socrates If I weren’t a bird watcher, I might have easily been convinced that someone was hammering on our house. It turned out, however, there was hammering, but it was on the neighbor’s house. There was no treat awaiting the Red-Bellied Woodpecker who hammered away on the edge […]

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Just a Sliver of Humble Pie

“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.” ~Epictetus Taking my aisle seat on the plane, I hoped no one would ask to sit beside me. There was a lady sitting near the window, and we both seemed to like the space between us just the way it was. […]

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Looking for Unexpected Beauty

“No object is so ugly that, under certain conditions of light and shade, or proximity to other things, it will not look beautiful; no object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.” – Oscar Wilde Standing in the checkout line at the grocery, the racks full of tabloids seemed to […]

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What’s Your Path?

“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself.” ~Walt Whitman It was a chilly afternoon, and my older son had pulled in the driveway after a vocal performance test. Eager to hear how he thought he had done, I raced outside without a sweater. “I nailed […]

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Moving Beyond Fear

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” ― Marie Curie (1867-1934) The hair on the dog’s back ruffled, standing up as if someone had brushed it against the grain. I have a healthy fear of a growling […]

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No Complaints

“What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.” ― Maya Angelou, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now “I can’t believe he…” I switched the band to my other arm. Twenty minutes later, in frustration, I began […]

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Step One

“The first step is always the hardest” ― Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever There is just nothing quite like a new journal. If you’ve never been a journaler, maybe it’s easier for you to appreciate the feeling of a new package of notebook paper — opening the plastic, straightening the pieces of paper, and clasping them […]

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Endings

There´s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall And the bells in the steeple too And up in the nursery an absurd little bird Is popping out to say “cuckoo”  ~Oscar Hammerstein II   It’s been a little less than four years since a news editor at the Daily News Journal […]

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I’ll Choose Serenity

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.” ~Reinhold Niebuhr “You’re really not acting like you normally do. You need to chill out.” Was my friend really saying this to me? Yes, she was, and it was very painful […]

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It’s Not About the Likes

“If you just set out to be liked, you will be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and would achieve nothing.” ― Margaret Thatcher The votes came in, and I took second place in the category of “Best Dressed  Girl” in my senior class. Vicky had more votes, in my opinion, more likes, and […]

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Thoughts to Encourage

Joy is the will which labors, which overcomes obstacles, which knows triumph.~ William Butler Yeats

Whether you think you can or think you can’t you’re right. - Henry Ford

The best way out is always through. ~ Robert Frost

Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. ~ Theodore N. Vail

Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall. ~ Oliver Goldsmith

You must be the change you want to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi

Nothing helps like a good nap…

Birds are Beautiful

A Dog is Faithful…