Quote Lindbergh

Posted on Mar 4, 2023 in Uncategorized

Photo by Adrian Swancar

..since everyone suffers

I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable. All these and other factors combined, if the circumstances are right, can teach and can lead to rebirth.
 
– Anna Morrow Lindbergh
 
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These Things I’ve Learned

Posted on Feb 25, 2023 in Uncategorized

Photo by Ian Schneider

These Things I’ve Learned

by Maya Angelou

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. 

I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.”

I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. 

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.

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MEN

Posted on Feb 18, 2023 in Uncategorized

Photo by Brooke Cagle

While I no longer read the top sources for daily news, I do read some of my favorite columnists – if they are writing about anything other than politics. Below is a good article by NYT columnist David French about what men want. Found it interesting. You might as well.

Hope Valentine’s Day treated you well. Late wishes from me! Love, Vicki P.


Men Need Purpose More Than ‘Respect’

By David French, 2.12. 23

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There is…

Posted on Feb 12, 2023 in Uncategorized

Photo by Ivana Cajina

there is brave in soft.
there is wild in simple.
there is peace in thunder.
there are songs in stillness.


– Jenthe Emma

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The Wisdom of a Child

Posted on Feb 4, 2023 in Uncategorized

Photo by Jeremy Wong

THE WISDOM OF A CHILD

I am Aunt Vicki to my oldest friend’s children, who are all now hovering on 50 years of age. Seems impossible, and more impossible that their children are now getting their driver’s licenses.

I recently visited their mother and she handed me a short essay her daughter, Alison, had written in college.

Alison’s 5-year old answer to helping her newly widowed great aunt is precious and precocious. Her insight? Way beyond her years considering she had yet to experience deep loss herself.

A Childhood Memory

Allison Oshinsky

It is said that nothing is seen more purely and simply than through the eyes of a child. At times it seems the more we know, the less we understand. The answers that were once black and white are lost between shades of gray. But is innocence lost maturity gained?

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Finding Time to Be Picky

Posted on Jan 28, 2023 in Uncategorized

Photo by freestocks

Great column by Nik Golke on the beauty of childhood… and some of what we might want to pick-up again… that isn’t childish!

Have a good week!

Vicki P.


Cereal Crumbs

By Nik Golke 1/18/23

When I was a kid, I used to care so much about my cereal being crumb-free. You know, the dust sitting at the bottom of every bag. Whenever I poured cereal into my bowl, I would make sure to not get any of those crumbs, and when the box was at its end, I’d pick the last proper cereal bits out by hand.

This morning, I also finished a bag of cereal. I emptied what was left into the bowl in one fell swoop, crumbs and all. As the last bit of cereal dust settled, I realized that I no longer cared about cereal crumbs. What happened?

Well, besides the fact that about 20 years have passed, nowadays, when I make cereal, I’m either hungry, tired, or thinking about a million things. I’ve got more important things to do, and, on the one hand, that’s a good thing. Of course, caring about cereal crumbs is silly in the grand scheme of things. My energy is better spent doing meaningful work, taking care of myself, or being a good friend, boyfriend, or brother.

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Bring Your Attention to the Task at Hand

Posted on Jan 21, 2023 in Uncategorized

Photo by Sarah Brown

This past Monday was our “official” MLK holiday and the expected media attention was evident.

King’s words echo wisdom we too often ignore.

My friend, Toni Bernard (who lives with a chronic health condition), has cherished a certain MLK passage and included it in her 2015 Psychology Today article about how King’s words resonated while she was doing a typically uninspiring chore: laundry. 

A timeless good read, folks!

If you are in CA, hope you’re staying dry. If elsewhere, keep your boots handy. Weather travels east!

Vicki P.


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