Dear Reader:

I have a personal mantra I silently and mentally entertain each morning… “Lord, let me be a better person today than I was yesterday. ” I have accepted my imperfections and been a Brene Brown follower long enough to know that perfection is unobtainable on this side of the universe but it doesn’t mean we can’t openly admit we are a ” work in progress.” And progress means we keep trying.

James Michener once revealed that he sees character as a ” consistency demonstrated on third and fourth tries.” ( ad continuum)

The last couple of days have been ” heavy” weather wise… the air feels thick.. laden with dark gray skies and the humidity feels like a blanket being thrown over me… if I stay out too long.

Doesn’t the atmosphere in our country feel heavy too? Daily we witness more controversial and frankly terrifying assaults on our democracy and constitutional/ personal rights. Political deceit and hidden agendas seem to hit us like waves crashing on the shore. Trust in our once respected symbols of justice and equality are crumbling around us… and revelations of greed and power for the few over the populace gain momentum by ” the root of all evil”-money. Will history one day point to it as the downfall of democracy…it was bought out…

Pinterest had a selection of excerpts and famous lines from Robert Frost’s poetry and one set of lines spoke to me. ” But with one step backward taken, I saved myself from going-a world torn loose went by me.”

Frost was not alone with these thoughts of pulling away from the way things are… Thoreau believed this too. He wrote: ” A man is rich in proportion to the things he can let alone ”

Frost wanted to tell universal truths about the human experience… he foresaw the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution on our environment and the loss of freedom from agrarian self-sustaining farm families to child labor in dangerous unhealthy mills where towns were controlled by the company owners and every aspect of a mill family’s life was controlled-loss of freedom by the many for the few. History repeats itself sadly… if we don’t learn from it.

So until tomorrow… ” The sun will come out tomorrow ” ( at least that’s what the weatherman says) and everyday is a clean slate God generously gives each of us… but it is up to us to drop back and re-enforce the essential qualities our children need to fight the negativity that pervades our politics and start instilling in our children the qualities needed to insure that our democracy prevails under honesty, kindness, compassion, tolerance, acceptance, and love for our fellow man. We have to never stop believing in love-always the victor over hate… in the end.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

As I was cleaning out a drawer I found this watercolor-no name-but I immediately recognized Anne as the artist-I texted it to her and she confirmed it was one of her earliest water colors! It was just the scene I needed. A God Wink. Light… beautiful light! All is right with the world when beauty reigns supreme and light overcomes darkness!