Traveling the World Through Others
Normal. We throw this word around to describe typical things, the ordinary, the usual, the suspected. It’s a label, really. An arbitrary term subjectively applied to people and situations, and it seems more about people’s opinions than fact. Defining “normal” is difficult, though it is used most often to explain why someone feels comfortable or…
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Balance is a noun. It is the idea of staying upright and straight when it seems as if everything around you is anything but. It is the state of maintaining equilibrium, an equal amount of this and that. But maintaining balance when things around me are out of place and skewed seems impossible. I know…
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With everything going on in the news about women being attacked, women voicing their feelings of being unsafe, and even additional discussion of male harassment and violence against women, I feel like this is an interesting time for women in general. I must say, as a woman, I am surprised at the level of shock…
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My favorite of Chaucer’s tales was the The Wife of Bath’s Tale. During the Middle Ages, women were not valued or respected. Women were treated as property. They were not able to own property or be educated. Instead, women were fated to live lives of servitude to their husbands. Knowing history as I do, I…
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Yes, the next book in line is a prayer book. Personally, I love good prayer. When I was little, I memorized all of the Catholic prayers they recited at church. I still go through them when I am struggling. But I have also moved on to other prayer creators. One of my favorites is Tosha…
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So what do you think of the new house? Not bad for someone who left her ex with two boys, a few boxes and a dream of a something better someday. Part of me wants to investigate this idea further. The thought that my ramblings about how far I have come might inspire someone, but…
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After Erma, we have Randy Pausch. This is a slim volume of text containing so many valuable words and lessons. To say that these two books are diametrically opposed is a bit of an over-statement. But they do share an easy narrative style, and I chuckle when I think about these two authors being in…
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There is a famous line in Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. Andy Dufrense is in prison with Red and they are discussing the future. Red, who has been in jail since he was a very young man, knows he will never make parol. He feels his fate and Andy’s fate are both sealed. They…
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We have all either heard or used this old proverb at some point. Its origin (according to http://www.knowyourphrase.com) is as early as 1175. It appeared in a book called Old English Homilies. Regardless of its origin story, it means that you can set up the circumstances for someone to do something that is beneficial for…
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The truth is so tricky. I have said before and I will write it here again…we lie to control how others feel about us. The last six years I have vowed to tell the truth. No big lies to protect myself. No white lies so others felt better. So why did I tell a lie…
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