Why

Several different conversations and one internal line of thought have spawned the idea for this blog.

First and foremost, the inspiration for this is my daughter. Since her birth, 7.5 years ago, I've had a desire to leave her a piece of writing. I might live to be one hundred. I might have a fatal accident tomorrow. Either way, I want to leave her something that she can turn to again and again which assures her that she was very much loved, admired and appreciated by her mother. Why I feel so strongly about this is another piece of writing. Suffice it say that this is for my daughter.

I've been having a conversation with a friend over the last few months. We've been talking about how one bad moment can make us feel like an entire day is rotten. There could have been hundreds of other neutral or perfectly wonderful moments, but the day is defined by this one negatively charged experience. It's difficult to keep it in balance. Part of the goal here is to redirect our attention to the positive moments.

In an online conversation with an acquaintance, we'd been exchanging our grievances about politicians and celebrities and how abysmal our leadership examples are. I was an avid participant, moaning about the stupid thing this person did or the horrendous things that another has done. In the end, I felt myself being sucked into a vortex where you spend all your time looking for things to complain about. Now, don't get me wrong, I thoroughly believe in calling destructive behaviors for what they are. Silence can be deadly. However, I also feel that if we want to make a better world, we need to focus even more energy on highlighting that which is good. We need to seek and promote inspirational action and stop giving all our energy to the complaining. So, another goal here is to offer a window into hope by seeking out inspirational leadership models and putting them forth as an alternative to that which we feel needs to be replaced.

Lastly, I re-read "The Plague" by Camus recently. I was struck by the following passage:

“In normal times all of us know, whether consciously or not, that there is no love which can’t be bettered; nevertheless, we reconcile ourselves more or less easily to the fact that ours has never risen above the average. But memory is less disposed to compromise.”

The narrator was speaking of regrets experienced by lovers upon reflection of themselves during an imposed separation. One can easily apply this to self-reflection in general. Often, we are not so kind to ourselves in retrospect. We remember our fumbles and stumbles and aches and pains. It can be hard to remember our triumphs, joy and grace. My hope for this blog is that my daughter has at least one place to turn to when she needs to be reminded that she is more light than dark, has known joy, as well as, sadness and has given as much to others as she has needed in return. And, if others join me in this endeavor, she will be reminded of others who grace this planet that she can look to for inspiration.

May the universe provide.....