"LIFE IN A WORD"

The word is ANTIDOTE

Definition: Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “something that relieves, prevents, or counteracts”

Posted 5/11/22

When you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, do you stumble through the day, all grumpy and gray or do you look for the sun? Do you look for an antidote?

My Story on Antidote

What’s new? These days it seems like many unsettling things are what’s new. Bad news catches up to us even when we try to shelter ourselves from it. There's social media platforms, news alerts on our phones, television and radio broadcasts, or just general conversations with family, friends, or colleagues. You can't escape it. Or, can you?

Today, I listened to the morning news far longer than usual. Fifteen minutes has been my limit since the first fifteen minutes usually capture the headlines. Today I hung in for 25 minutes, resulting in an overload of negative national and global news. I could feel the tension rise in my body. Usually, my morning yoga class calms me. This morning I knew it would take much more.

So, if you believe that the universe is listening and sometimes answers your call, please read on. Because that is the only explanation I could come up with this morning. My phone had alerted me to view one personalized photo recap video after another. Videos titled “Best Friends”, “Portraits”, “Holidays”, and “Favorites” kept popping up. Usually, I receive one video recap on my phone every week or so, but six or seven in a row on the same day? That has never happened until today.

The antidote to the bad news of the morning had arrived. Warm and meaningful memories were brought to life with the swipe of a phone screen and the touch of the play button. There were no wars in the background, no crashing market reports, no protests, and no crying children. Instead, there were smiles, milestone days and nights, weddings, births, anniversaries, local trips, international trips, sunsets, and more.

The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” came to me in the form of videos on my cell phone screen this morning. They lifted my spirits in every way possible. Bad News? What bad news? I received the gift of the antidote. It was something that counteracted the bad news I had heard an hour earlier and took me to a happier time and place. Did it take away the bad things happening in the world? No, but it gave me the ability to put things in perspective. I had received the gift of remembering all the meaningful people and places in my life. That is what allowed me to move on and face the day ahead.

If you or someone you know has lost sight of all the good in your life, it might be time to talk to a Life Coach. I hope you will reach out to me. Thank you for reading my blog and checking back next week for my “Life In A Word” blog posting.

"LIFE IN A WORD"

The word is: LOVE

Definition: Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Love: “strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties"

To put you in the proper frame of mind for this week's “Life In A Word” blog, I encourage you to click the YouTube link below. It’s the opening scene of the movie “Love Actually”. I can pretty much guarantee it will make you smile. It might even bring a tear or two to your eyes. It gets me every time, always has, always will.

Love Actually Opening Scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUoxXpqof8A

My Story on Love

In honor of Mother's Day, I want to focus on the many faces of maternal love.

Eternal Love:

My grandmother was the epitome of love and energy. She had sixteen grandchildren and an abundance of love for every one of us. When she was in her late seventies, she flew up from Florida to Boston, just to visit me. I remember spotting her coming out of the passenger gangway and into the terminal. There she was walking towards me with this big smile on her face and two satchels, one hanging from each of her shoulders. As she came closer the satchels fell to the floor and we gave each other one of those hugs you feel with every inch of your being. Knowing that she had come all this way just to spend time with me has never been lost on me. I miss her every day and I carry her love with me always.

“Love at First Sight” Love

If you are a parent, picture the moment you held your newborn in your arms for the very first time. Leaving the "miracle of birth" emotions aside, remember how your body felt when you held this child up to your face, your child. Relive the moment when your skin touched his or her with that first embrace. That feeling is love - unabashed, feel the corners of your mouth ache with joy as you can't get the smile off your face, kind of love.

Love is Love is Love:

Love is an intangible emotion. You can't make it up, you can’t force it and more importantly, you can’t deny it. The feeling of being so drawn in by the mere presence of another human being, a grandparent, a parent, a child, a friend, a distant relative, or sometimes even a stranger, is quite possibly the greatest emotion we can hold.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday. It is a time to remember a mom who may have passed, with the fondest of memories. A day to celebrate the mom you still have and to be so very grateful for all she means to you. It is a day to embrace the daughter you have watched become a mother. It is also a day to remember the women in your life whose motherly love guided you through the many phases of your life. Celebrate the uniqueness of all these women and don't forget to let them know just how much you love them.

I want to end this blog by inviting you to watch the closing scene of “Love Actually” to see all the ages represented, the genders, the colors, the nationalities, and the sheer joy as they aptly display the many faces of love.

The final scene in “Love Actually”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEQPXDGRaEk

"LIFE IN A WORD"

The word is COURAGE

Definition: Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty”

Posted 4/28/22

For the first time ever, the JFK Profile in Courage Foundation has recognized not one but five outstanding individuals for their commitment to preserving democracy nationally and globally.

For those not familiar with the Profiles In Courage Award:

“Since 1989 the Kennedy family and the JFK Library Foundation have used the Profiles in Courage Award to celebrate the qualities of political courage that JFK admired most. Brave public servants who made courageous decisions without regard for personal or professional consequences. Putting their careers and lives on the line in standing up to tyranny and democracy in the world.”

Among the five recipients of this year's Profile In Courage Award is Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine.

My Story on Courage

When I think of the word courage, it is hard to look anywhere other than at the face of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He is a shining example of courage. A leader whose actions we witness in real-time every day. He reaches out in all ways possible to secure the lives of his citizens and the future of his country - and all at great personal risk. He is not super human or perfect, but still I am in awe of him because he represents all that is decent in a human being. He stands for, truth, strength in the face of adversity, empathy, integrity, generosity, gratitude, and most of all courage.

Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I am an eternal optimist. I seek out the silver lining in every situation. Sometimes people want to pour water over my head to wake me up from the puffy, white cloud of optimism, I’m floating on. But I am not deterred. Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed my optimism is real and what he stands for is contagious. Because standing alongside him are courageous men and women rallying to the call of freedom over tyranny every day. And it doesn't stop there. He has tapped into the inner voice of many. The voice that distinguishes right from wrong, good from evil, and action from complacency.

Think about all the people donating to or working with the World Central Kitchen and other organizations heeding the call to help those who cannot help themselves. Led by Chief Executive Chef Jose Andres, the WCK and all who work under that umbrella are putting others before self in a war-torn country and surrounding countries by providing a haven for the millions of refugees fleeing the horrors of war. That takes courage.

As I mentioned earlier, there were five recipients of the Profiles in Courage Award this year, something that has never happened before. Imagine for a moment if a wave of courage spread the way the Pandemic did. If people, young and old, in countries far and wide dared to stand up for what is right regardless of personal or professional consequences. Think about what that world might look like.

Doing the right thing isn’t always popular and often comes with consequences. But if this is the beginning of a trend, then I say, welcome to my puffy, white cloud of optimism. Or better yet, I invite you to find one of your own. Let all the puffy, white clouds take over the gloomy skies fostered by weakness, intimidation, and cowardice.

Barack Obama, upon receiving the 2017 Profiles In Courage Award at the JFK Library in Boston, echoed the beliefs of JFK when he said:

“Courage requires something more than just the absence of fear. Any fool can be fearless. Courage, true courage, derives from that sense of who we are, what are our best selves, what are our most important commitments, and the belief that we can dig deep and do hard things for the enduring benefit of others.”

Be the hero of your own story by setting an example for the ones who are only in it for themselves. Find your courage, like the Cowardly Lion did in the famed Wizard of Oz. Remember, at the end of his journey neither Dorothy or the Wizard gave him his courage, they merely helped him to realize that he was carrying it inside himself all along.

Congratulations President Zelensky and thank you for reminding us what it means to have courage.

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If you are looking for help finding your courage, standing up for yourself, or to help someone else, it might be time to talk to a Life Coach. I hope you’ll reach out to me. Thank you for reading my blog and for checking in next week for a new posting of “Life In A Word”.