The Unbearable Lightness of the Other Shoe Dropping Just as the music is the space between the notes, so is the impending state of the world as the pandemic winds down. I think of this time as being the "Unbearable Lightness of the Other Shoe Dropping." Right now we are stuck in between, where the past year has changed us all at the core level and the future is cloudy with a chance to go either way. This will all depend on what we learn about ourselves, how we internalize what has occurred and … [Read more...]
The Big Lie and How It Changed Me
The Big Lie and How It Changed Me I had been invisible for far too long. Now was the time for me to step into my power and set the record straight. Would I have the courage to emerge from the shadows? We were in the area between the lunchroom and the bathroom just before the morning bell rang. There must be an official name for this space, but I wouldn't know where to find it. Her back was up against the vending machine and my breath was close enough to her face for me to see the hair on her … [Read more...]
I Write to Remember; Self-Discipline Makes This Possible
I Write to Remember, and Self-Discipline As a Practice Adds the Joy I write to remember the life experiences of my past. I write to learn from what I've lived through. I also write to share my experiences with others, now and in the future. I am only able to do this because of the habits I've nurtured over the past decade. The most important habit is that of self-discipline. Basically, self-discipline refers to the ability to resist feelings, temptations and other weaknesses that would … [Read more...]
Hard Truths You Must Embrace
Hard Truths You Must Embrace to Be Successful It’s a no-brainer, or at least in my thinking. Everyone wants to be successful, right? And in theory, everyone can be successful. But you may have noticed that most people give up way before they achieve their goal. Or they’re happy with some short-term success, early on in their careers. They choose to stay in comfortable stagnation and think that success is only for high flyers. But if you want to be successful at anything, you need to accept and … [Read more...]
Three Sisters on a Journey of Discovery
In my dream I am the eldest sister, bossy and precocious and adored by the two younger girls. They look up to me, literally and figuratively and with the knowing that I will always be there for them. We're shopping at our store, Three Sisters, at the 79th Street Shopping Center in Miami. The youngest giggles as a woman holding a little boy's hand passes us by on the way to the dressing room. We pretend we are the three sisters and our father owns the store. The manager comes over to see if we'd … [Read more...]
The Road Trip
During the summer of 2016 I took a road trip across the United States. I drove over six thousand miles (about 10K kilometers) and the experience was life changing for me and those with whom I connected while I was on this journey of self-discovery. I was not driving a Volkswagon van and I did not pass through Zion Canyon National Park, but it was an incredible journey nonetheless. In May of 2021 I am repeating the experience. It will only be a five-day road trip days this time and I will … [Read more...]
World Peace… One Person at a Time
I'm on a quest to help achieve world peace, one person at a time. This journey began in the fall of 1986. I was a new teacher in Los Angeles, hired on an "emergency" credential due to a teacher shortage throughout California. My assignment was at elementary school in the San Fernando Valley section of the city and it was a 5th/6th grade split. A "split" class means that you have students in your classroom from two different grade levels, each requiring their own lessons, instructions, … [Read more...]
That Time When I Pleaded the Fifth…
There wasn't a sound to be heard as the attorney asked me the question for the second time. I sat still and upright in my chair before answering her. "I'm going to invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege." I looked down at my hands in my lap and waited for someone else to speak. The silence continued until a child in the back of the courtroom went into a coughing fit. When he did catch his breath it scared him and the wailing began. The woman holding him climbed over several people and exited … [Read more...]
When My Preparation Met Opportunity
"Everything we choose to do during our lifetimes and everything that comes into our realm of consciousness is preparing us for something we will be called to do in the future." ~ Connie Ragen Green I have long known that nothing is an accident or a coincidence or just plain luck. I came to this conclusion after too many things in my life came about after I planted the seeds in my mind and focused on them. I'll share some examples here with you, but first I want to give this subject the time … [Read more...]
A River Ran Through It
I should have known that a river ran through it. Even from the main road leading into the property, the roar of water moving rapidly had entered my consciousness. The Pacific Ocean was less than a kilometer to the west, but oceans make a very different sound and have their own unique rhythm. This was definitely a river, or perhaps a creek that was very close by. It was March of 1986 and once again I'd accepted an appraisal assignment in Santa Barbara. At that time I was living in Chatsworth, … [Read more...]