L.I.V.E. Life Inspired Views for Everyday

Send us Fan Mail I love scrolling quotes in Pinterest because I am so inspired by simple sentences that encourage me to live better, be kinder, learn more, and seek wisdom. Simplicity is usually the most lasting mode of sustaining an important message or concept. Similar to "Occam's Razor," which tells us the simplest is often encouraged over the complex. Recently, I discovered a ne...

Send us Fan Mail Remember when Dorothy was clicking her ruby slippers together and softly repeating, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home...?" And then, remember when she woke up in Kansas and was so relieved and excited to see her Uncle Henry and Auntie Em, the farm hands, and the circus man she'd met? They were people close to her, in the environment s...

Send us Fan Mail Winston Churchill said, "Fear is a reaction, courage is a decision." He was right. Each one of us is living proof of his statement. They pair together whenever we face a scary situation. I didn't know how to dive until I was in my late 30's because I was so afraid of going headfirst into the water. Finally the day came and I decided to do it. It took courage. O...

Send us Fan Mail When I taught in China we learned it was important in Chinese culture not to lose face or take face. When our group of teachers would be brought to various companies to tour and talk to the administration, I always had so many questions. One day, I became concerned that I was perhaps causing them to lose face with all my questions about their practices. Finally at one of our compa...

Send us Fan Mail In one of the texts I used when teaching Family Counseling, the author, Robert Taibbi, states that, "People are always doing the best that they can." He goes on to expand on this point saying, "If you believe that people are doing the best they can in the moment, not only is it a more optimistic view of life, but then it is possible to be compassionate to others rat...

Send us Fan Mail In the book, "Humankind: A Hopeful History," the author, Rutger Bregman, tells a story about a young social worker who was mugged on his way to a restaurant. He gave the thief his wallet and as the thief was running away, the social worker offered him his coat. This made the thief stop and ask him what he was doing that for. The social worker replied, "I figured tha...

Send us Fan Mail My Grandma used to say, "There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, it behooves us all not to talk about the rest of us."  Isn't that like a lot of things we do in our lives. Some things have both good and not so good within them; like social media and other things we indulge in. The challenge is learning to temper ourselves or maybe...

Send us Fan Mail I taught CPR for many years. We teach CPR by repeating and repeating the necessary steps so they can become almost an automatic response when the need arises to perform it on someone whose heart has stopped.  It seems our minds remember things best when a process is laid out in several specific steps. Today's podcast explores the necessity of forgiveness in coming to peace wh...

Send us Fan Mail I don't know if genetics plays a part in this or not, but one thing I believe I inherited from my dad is the deep care I feel for wounded people. We all have experienced emotional wounds in our lives, but I watched while growing up how my dad would tend to these people with an open heart, ready to hear their wound story. I asked him many times why it seemed people were drawn...

Send us Fan Mail Emails have threatened many relationships and sometimes destroyed them because the tone could not be heard and the words written may have been interpreted wrongly without tone or facial expression. Emails are so often judged far differently than intended. That is why I LOVE being able to call a person or meet on Zoom/Teams in situations that are sensitive in order to hear a voice...

Send us Fan Mail It seems it is human nature to be drawn to stories that describe people who have made difficult decisions to do things that might have been out of their comfort zone but have made a big effect in some aspects of their lives, but most often the lives of others. I'm always curious as to the background of those people and the stories in their lives that led them to have the kind...

Send us Fan Mail It takes courage to tell someone you are sorry and admit to making a mistake. It also takes courage to ask for forgiveness after offending someone or making a mistake. But the release of regret and sometimes self-loathing, that comes when one is able to admit and then make the needed amends, can be so refreshing and relieving. It makes me wonder, why don't we free ourselves o...

Send us Fan Mail I grew up in a family of readers. There is so much in life to learn from books. This week, my thoughts were wrestling with an historical account of a man's quest for power in a place where you would not expect it, thus reminding me that humans are always vulnerable to become that which they might think they never would become. But then, that is why reading or exposing us to l...

Send us Fan Mail I have probably mentioned before that I am often asked how I can be so cheerful all the time. Perhaps it has to do with my two philosophies of life. One is that every day when I wake up, I look forward to something. It could be as small as a cup of coffee! The other is that I do not want to be 108 years old looking back on my life and say, "Why didn't I?" This week...

Send us Fan Mail When my dad was teaching me to float, he would hold his hands under me and then tell me to tip my head back and trust his arms. He then would gently pull them back, then put them under me, pull them back, then put them under me until I realized I was floating. Two wonderful things occurred. Knowing that I could trust my dad to be there and then when I did it on my own, I felt so e...

Send us Fan Mail If you have grandparents or memories of them, you hopefully remember the feeling of love, the warm and cozy hugs, the joy that you had just being with them or looking forward to seeing them. You probably don't first think of their wrinkles, sagging skin, gray or white hair, or larger frames that usually strike us as we age. You have looked past those features because the pers...

Send us Fan Mail I've mentioned before how much I learn from quotes. My journals are packed with quotes that reflect my values, hopes, and characteristics I hope to emulate while wandering this earth. I find meaning in ancient as well as current sages of wisdom.  This week I explore a way to look at the quote by Rumi, who was a 13th-century poet, and Sufi mystic, and has been revered for his...

Send us Fan Mail Today we often hear people claiming to have "imposter syndrome." If you haven't heard of it, it's when someone doesn't feel competent or confident despite what they have achieved. They do not feel the sweetness of success because they are waiting for "the other shoe to drop," so to speak. To be found fraudulent or fully inadequate. There is an an...

Send us Fan Mail Edgar Stafford wrote of his poetry, "I have woven a parachute out of everything broken." It reminds me of the 100 year-old rag rugs my mom and sister, Freda, have in their home. Broken and torn pieces of fabric, woven together by loving hands, have withstood time, dirt, and crushing feet. They are strong, durable, and beautiful. Bianca Sparacino wrote a book entitled, Th...

Send us Fan Mail When my dad was alive, he often repeated a story from his college years to us kids. He described going into a professor's office to discuss a question he had on a paper or something like that. As he stood in front of the professor's desk, the professor continued to focus on the other papers laying in front of him. He would mindlessly mutter an acknowledgement every now a...

Send us Fan Mail In one of the later Star Wars movies, Darth Vader, the bad guy who is totally despicable, ends up being killed. The movie discloses that he was really the father of the good guy, the hero, Luke Skywalker. However, in the last scene of the movie, there is a great celebration of the good guys and the creatures who helped them defeat the bad guys. While the good guys are sitting enjo...

Send us Fan Mail I have told you about my interest in Physics, probably due to the influence of my brother, Pete. Well, a question led me to consult him again...and I left with new inspired possibilities of living meaningfully.  Our minds have been graced with so much if we just seek what we inherently seem to know to be true...to take advantage of silence and to use our minds. Thanks for listenin...

Send us Fan Mail Some months ago, I shared with you the wonderful experience I had when I was asked by a parent from the school where I served as principal to meet with some young women. She asked me to talk about life as a woman, mom, wife, career person, using my stories and experiences to encourage them in their stage of life. It was a wonderful evening of sharing. However, one of my favorite t...

Send us Fan Mail We are so often drawn to stories about people who have experienced some sort of disabling tragedy and then gone on to do great things in spite of the physical challenges. Perhaps we love that kind of inspiration in hopes that we can be like them if we should face similar circumstances.  Let's put those thoughts of, "I hope I can persevere like that if...," out in fr...

Send us Fan Mail Isn't it interesting that with all the scary things you hear and read in the news, we all have an innate sense to know that those we love will remain safe. Love is truly one of the most powerful feelings and knowings in this life. We cannot see it...we see only the effects of it, the drive to sustain it, the need to know it, the desire to share it.  It is love that continues...