Tag Archives: empowerment

Remember the balance beam in the school yard? Did you walk on it, balancing with your arms out from your side in the air? What about the lines on the sidewalk that you would walk like a tightrope? It was all about feeling the success of walking the line without falling off. We all have experienced that bliss of success. We also all know how it feels to "fall" and be in the topsy-turvey moments. How did you handle it when you fell off the balance beam? Did you criticize yourself? Did you swear to never get up on that thing again? Or, did you get right back up and take the risk of falling off again? Maybe a little of both? But here is the nitty-gritty: Each choice we make has a purpose. Life requires moments of imbalance in order to find the perfect balance.

Delight in each day! There is something that is going to happen today that should be celebrated. You woke up. Maybe you were able to witness the sunrise? Even if you did not see it, it happened and it was a magnificent painting of wonderment. Even if nothing out of the ordinary happens all day long there is going to be thousands of stars shining brightly down on you tonight asking you in a twinkle, "What will you do tomorrow?" "Which star will you wish on tonight"? "What will you be celebrating tomorrow?"

Remember the story of Goldilocks and the three bears? Just like Goldilocks, we question things in our lives. We test things. Taking a look at our lives is something we can forget to do with day-to-day stress. Goldilocks did not just know which porridge was the right porridge. She tested each bowl. Now, I won't get into the fact that she broke in the Bear's home in this story that might presently be banned from many schools because it promotes criminal behavior... Nonetheless, she tested which porridge was too hot, too cool and just right.

There is record of the word hope in English, though in varying form, dating back to before the twelfth century and even earlier in Hebrew. I have a good feeling that even before there was a word, there was an action- a longing, an expectation, an anticipation. It's like the human equivalent of an animal's instinct- a built in feature. Not to say that animals don't hope and humans don't have instinct. It could be that both of these things are interchangeable and innate with all life. We need hope to live, thrive, and find our purpose. That is why I am thankful to