Last November my two brothers and I celebrated the fact that we had officially outlived our parents. Then one of my brothers had a massive cerebral hemorrhage Sunday, February 19 and died on Tuesday, February 21. He had been proclaimed brain dead that Sunday and was placed on life support to give his children the opportunity to say their “goodbyes”. Once my nephew arrived Monday night from D.C., he passed on his own. Continue reading “Dealing with Death”
To Tell the Truth
Most people have lied at least once in their lives. I know I’ve lied to avoid hurting someone’s feelings: “Yes, I like your new haircut.” I’ve lied to avoid embarrassment: “I wonder where that awful smell is coming from?” I’ve lied to avoid getting into trouble: “I don’t know who broke the vase.” I’ve even lied to prove a point: “I got that fact from the encyclopedia.” But like most of you, I’ve put away the childish act of lying and found ways to effectively to avoid telling uncomfortable truths. These days, any misrepresentations of the truth are actually honest lapses in my memory. I’d like to think that if I were to tell a lie today, it would be to protect someone’s life, like the courageous Corrie Ten Boom who hid Jews from the Nazis as depicted in the movie, “The Hiding Place”. But these days, adults who should be role models are lying like crazy and without consequence. These folks are using made up terms for their lying like “alternative facts” or “misspoken words” or “my opinion”. When did espousing false facts or lying become acceptable? In the country I hope to leave to the next generation, it is not acceptable! Continue reading “To Tell the Truth”
The Ugliness inside: Ethnocentrism and Racism
People around me know that I was never confident that Hillary Clinton was going to win against Donald Trump. In the days leading up to the 2016 election, I took comfort in all the polls that said he wasn’t going to win. In retrospect, I’m grateful for those polls because they helped me sleep more peacefully for a few weeks. I would use those polls to reassure myself that I was wrong in my conviction that the ugliness of ethnocentrism and racism that hide deep inside every human, was going to erupt within enough individuals at the last moment in the privacy of a voting booth. And I believe it did. Continue reading “The Ugliness inside: Ethnocentrism and Racism”
Anger Management
Yesterday, I woke up to a very angry husband professing how he wasn’t a violent man, but how he wanted to punch Donald Trump in the mouth. He was so angry–angrier than I have ever seen him. Until now my husband had been calm in comparison to my daily outrage over each new executive order and stupid tweet. My otherwise gentle husband confessed that his avoidance of the news had staved off his outrage until yesterday morning. I don’t know what possessed him to finally watch the news, but he did and there it was: angry energy demanding release. Anger is an explosive force. Unless you’re one of those people who has learned to manage anger without destroying people, then it is best to avoid it. But if you’ve learned how to channel anger, then anger serves its true purpose as a powerful motivator and great fuel for positive action. Continue reading “Anger Management”