April 15 , 2021 /

A YEAR AGO

It has been a hellacious year for many reasons, with Covid being the most challenging and the lack of leadership at the top right behind it, actually contributing to the 564,000 deaths in the U.S. alone and 2.97 million world-wide.   I wondered what I was thinking about a year ago, so reached back, and here it is, still valid IMNSHO.

April 5 , 2020 /

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

Whether all in one sitting, or one for each day of the week, or one each week for 7 weeks, put them on and see what you can do with them.  And, what they might do for you as well as those around you.

1 –  GRACE    Think of an elegant blessing, one that you may have received that you can bestow upon another.  The gift of grace lifts us up so that we in turn may lift others.

2 –  GRATITUDE  Genuine thanksgiving for freedom of choice, for opportunities to give unselfishly and to exhibit behaviors that demonstrate recognition and appreciation.

3 –  COMPASSION  Going beyond sympathy to empathy and letting others know that you see them, you hear them and that you care about them.  Specific acts of kindness.

4 –  HELPING  Finding ways to lift and share the burdens that others endure, often suffering quietly or alone.

5 –  LISTENING  Paying attention to peoples’ stories, the willingness to hear what they are saying, their need to communicate and connect.

6 –  LEARNING  Gathering new information from different sources, seeing how to help apply new solutions to old problems.

7 –  LOVING  Embracing both yourself and others with heartfelt expressions of acceptance. In the words of Fred Rogers, “I like you just the way you are.”

You can expand these to include your own definition and understanding.  My intention is to help focus on some things that might  add to strengthening ourselves and our communities in these trying times.

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