The Blog

Time flies, but does it count? Do you too often find the day gone without any sense of satisfaction or accomplishment? Rich or poor, we all live in the same framework of twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, or “24/7” as it’s come to be known. But what great differences there are in how much individuals accomplish. Bad …

I’m not a preacher, but I was asked to deliver the opening prayer at Council On Aging’s Rat Pack Reunion fund-raising event Friday, October 19, 2018. It took a couple hours to compose, and this is what I offered: “Dear Lord: Please be present with us this evening. Many of us have felt overwhelmed at the destruction and devastation of …

IMPACT 100 of Pensacola Bay Area gave out checks for $100,300 to eleven local nonprofits yesterday. It was a joyful afternoon. Hundreds of women listened to 15 agencies give their 5 minute speeches, trying to persuade us that they had a deserving project to benefit the community. Each project had to be clearly defined and not able to be accomplished …

A special wedding guest. I know it’s not normal to bring an uninvited guest to a wedding, but I’m sure this one will be welcomed. Inspiration hit me last week when I had a bright idea for a gift for John and Meredith. I retrieved my husband’s scrapbook from a squadron tour on USS John F. Kennedy back in the …

Lost blogs. Last week, I went to write my normal Monday blog for the Women’s Wisdom web site. I checked back on previous ones and discovered that the ones I had written for September had disappeared! And of course I hadn’t copied them elsewhere. I can’t even remember what I wrote about! Lesson learned: copy and store each one, and …

What’s in a face? Your soul, your ‘self’ that you present to the world. It’s the first thing people see when they look at you, and too often determines whether they want to engage with you or walk away. I just finished reading a long article in the National Geographic September 2018 issue, “Katie’s New Face.” The author, Joanna Connors, …

Self-esteem affects everything you do and is essential to thriving as the years pass. It is your psychological lifeblood, the fertilizer for your soul. Other ways to describe it include the terms self-worth, self-image, self-confidence. It’s an attitude of self-acceptance – of appreciating, enjoying, and valuing who you are. And it does not come from acquiring more material stuff; you …

Every change involves a story. “Change” was the topic last week for my Pathways for Change class which includes women in drug and alcohol treatment as well as their mentors. I handed cards to three women, asking them to line up in the normal progression of a story. They did: BEGINNING – MIDDLE – END. Then I said, “But in …

Civility is more essential than ever if we want our republic, our democracy, to survive. It requires effort and participation from all of us, a self-discipline and commitment to putting the common good above our personal pleasures. Dr. P.M. Forni, a professor at Johns Hopkins, found that 80% of Americans think civility is a serious social issue…but 99% of those …

Procrastination is a personal problem. Mine. I’ve struggled with it all my life, expert at putting things off until the last minute. I know I have company in the procrastinator trap. Why do we do it? We may be afraid of failure…or success. One of the biggest causes of procrastination is perfectionism, or wanting a perfect outcome. And since perfection …