Earth date: November 2, 2020 “I felt I had to write. Even if I had never been published. I knew that I would go on writing, enjoying it and experiencing the challenge.” Gwendolyn Brooks Nine and a half years ago, I started a blog. I’d met with an editor and of all the advice she gave me, joining social media and writing a weekly blog were two important ways of growing a readership. If I ever wanted to impress a publishing company, I needed a good finished manuscript and a group of people (other than family and friends) willing to purchase my book. Because publishing companies are all business, I needed to demonstrate I could be an asset to the company. So here I am 481 posts later, 190,000 hits, and a handful of small pieces published to my name. Three and a half manuscripts sit on my desk, some more finished than others, but – honestly - I have no desire to see them published. The experience has been more than the compensation I desire. Somewhere in the la
Earth Day: October 26, 2020 An American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr composed the following prayer in 1932. “Father, give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know one from the other.” If it sounds familiar, it’s because several versions of this prayer spread quicky, most famously in song lyrics and poetry, and in 1955, Alcoholics Anonymous adopted the following: “ God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” I prefer the original sentiment. “Father, give us courage to change what must be altered. . .” Courage always comes before acceptance, courage to acknowledge and accept, to face and admit, that things have to change. “[S]erenity to accept what cannot be helped. . .” Only after ALL has been done, then can one accept the consequences of the outcome. “[A]nd the insight to know the one from the other.” This