The 2017 Academy Awards highlighted many outstanding movies and actors. Viola Davis won for her role in the movie Fences and in her acceptance speech she said, “You know, there is one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered and that’s the graveyard. People ask me all the time — what kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola? And I say exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories — the stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost. I became an artist and thank God I did because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life.” Continue reading
Month: February 2017 (Page 1 of 2)
I remember my first day at a summer job during university. It was on the production line at a brewery. It smelled like the morning after a keg party which was not very pleasant. But I soon equated that smell with a great pay cheque as I was making a lot more than my previous student jobs in retail or lifeguarding.
However the very first day was one of the toughest. That morning at 6 a.m. as I sat eating breakfast, wondering what it would be like to work in a beer factory, a long distance ring jangled the phone. It was my uncle in Ireland. He said my beloved grandma had just passed away. Continue reading
There’s an advertising agency that I drive by multiple times a day as I cart the kids to and from school. Because I’m a freelance writer, it’s the kind of place where I might be able to get some work. I’ve often thought about contacting them, but never got around to it.
Then yesterday, I decided to leave my comfort zone and take action. I dropped the kids off in the Kiss ‘n Ride, changed into a dressier coat and boots, and parked in front of the agency. Continue reading
What is the definition of family? There are the people you live with on a daily basis. Your spouse and children. There are your parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. But what about your tribe? Your friends? Your soul sisters? The people who get you. The people who cheer for you on the sidelines. The people who walk in when the world walks out. Family is tied together by far more than blood. Continue reading
This year, Random Act of Kindness Week ends on February 18. So there’s still time to make a difference.
Kindness makes the world go round and it’s the one characteristic that I always hope my children will display. Especially when no one is watching.
The best thing about kindness is that it costs little or nothing, takes a tiny amount of time, and can literally turn a frown upside down. And the energy in a kind act boomerangs back to the person who was kind. Making them feel happier, healthier and more positive because they were able to make someone smile. Continue reading
On this day in 399 BC, ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was sentenced to death. The charges were that he was corrupting the youth and did not believe in the gods of the time.
Socrates questioned the way things were and asked others to do the same. He was the father of debate and cross-examining ideas. He asked his students, including Plato, to think critically and scrutinize their lives. Not to believe what the world was telling them without thinking in through. He taught the idea that doing the right thing was more important than being a monetary success. That happiness comes from the journey, not the destination. Continue reading
I was watching the hit show This Is Us last week and one of the characters described when his marriage ended. He said he woke up every morning and made her coffee for years. Then one day he woke up and didn’t feel like making her coffee, so he didn’t. And she never noticed.
At some point we all stop noticing the little things. That the dishes are done or the fresh bread is bought. That the laundry is folded or the kids are ready for bed. That the homework is finished or the car’s washer fluid is full. Continue reading
Perspective is everything.
A close friend of mine was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She started aggressive chemotherapy a week later and was told she would lose her hair within two weeks. Although she was obviously upset, she thought about an ex-colleague in her early thirties who had died suddenly of a heart attack a few weeks earlier. Leaving behind a two-year-old daughter. And my friend was thankful for the blessing of having the chance to fight. Continue reading
The other day I was reading an article and it mentioned how there are times in life when we need to hold the space for someone. This is when we are present for a person completely without asking for anything in return. They may be going through a mental illness, a job loss, a tragedy, a health crisis or some other plight. And they need someone to walk beside them without trying to find a solution or tell them what to do or judge their journey. They need someone to hold the space. Continue reading
Never say never. For the first time ever, the Super Bowl went into overtime.
How many times in our lives have we been losing 28-9 at the end of the third quarter? Have we felt that we were too far gone to keep trying? Have we thought to ourselves, I just can’t make it happen, I’ll never succeed?
The New England Patriots were the favourite to win. Yet the Atlanta Falcons were 19 points ahead with just one quarter left to play. It seemed like the outcome was set. Continue reading