Avoiding the Trap

The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget. - Thomas Szasz



Wise words. Forgiveness isn't easy for many people in the world. I happen not to be one of those people. Forgiveness comes easily to me ... now, trust, that's a completely different story. Forgiveness is so vitally important in life. It we do not forgive then no forward progress can be made. Sometimes I think I forgive too easily and then fall into the trap of forgetting. Remembering the wrong is just as important as forgiving it. If we forget and just wipe it from our memory, have we learned or grown from the situation?

I forgive, but I can not forget because I have changed as a result of the wrong ... I am wiser and stronger than before and know what to do when a similar situation appears in the future. It's a fine line, though, between remembering and harboring. Remembering is a must but harboring negates ones ability to actually forgive and that's the trap I want to avoid. I have a feeling that this is one of those balances that takes ones entire lifetime to figure out.

Daily Inspiration

According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary the definition of Hero is as follows - a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; b: an illustrious warrior c: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d: one that shows great courage.

The first name that pops into my head when I hear the word Hero is my husband, Drew. He wouldn't much agree with that, but those of us who are so privileged to have him in our lives very much think that to be the case.

The second name that pops into my head is Martin Luther King, Jr. Talk about an amazing human being who was driven by passion ... He was passion personified! Not only did he give one of the greatest speechesof all time but he retaught an entire generation how important love and peace are, not to mention the fact that he won the Nobel Peace Price. That's what makes him my hero. He was driven by the same things that drive me ... love, life, peace, family, God.

I have an application on my iGoogle page that gives me a quote from MLK, Jr. everyday. And as you can imagine, everyday when I get on my computer, I am inspired by his words, his life, his passion ... inspired to lead a revolution, inspired to see things from a different point of view, inspired to show love when I really want to rip someone's head off ... but I digress ... the quote for today reads as follows:

"Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it."

Again, his words are so inspiring to me. Love is the most important life force. Without love, what do we have? Hate is easy but Love take courage. I want to live every moment of my life out of love, which is super hard for me. My first reaction used to always come out of a place of hurt and pain. I didn't used to care who got hurt in the process as long as it didn't end in more pain for me. That's not the case anymore. I still do react like that more than I'd like to admit, but something inside of me has changed ... it's Love. It's the influence of love around me that has stirred the love inside of me to grow. Love has awakened a part of me that I didn't even know existed because it was being strangled by hurt, pain and hate. MLK, Jr. said it accurately here ... hatred truly does darken life and love illuminates it ... life becomes brilliant, exciting and fulfilling when it's lived out of love.

I really wish I could have met Dr. King. I would have really enjoyed learning at his feet and experience his passion first hand. But I have the next best thing, Drew. His ability to love, his compassion for others, and his passion are infectious. His presence changes people. It's the craziest thing! He inspires and awakens emotions inside of people that that had no clue were even possible. He challenges growth without even realizing what he's doing. It is a direct result of Drew's influence on my life that has allowed me to make the changes within myself that have been made.

I want to surround myself with other Heros ... other people who inspire and challenge me to be the best person that I can be.

You are my Sunshine

Aven is such a cool little girl. Her personality is so bright and happy that we call her Sunshine a lot of the time. She may only be 2 1/2, but she has the funniest sense of humor and her comedic timing is spot on. She is constantly doing something to make us laugh or bring a little sunshine into the day. She rounds out our family perfectly.

Emma has really blossomed into a book lover ... which, of course, makes me super happy. I love reading now, but not so much when I was a kid so I'm especially happy that it's something she's into at the age of 6. I was at my mother-in-law's over the weekend and was telling her that Emma has read every children's book that we have (which is somewhere in the 75+ range) and that I thought that age appropriate chapter books would be a good Christmas present idea for her. Penny promptly lead me downstairs to a large tupperware container filled with books from when her boys were little. Needless to say, we came home with a ton of new books for Emma to read. As a result, Emma spent at least 2 1/2 hours in her room reading yesterday afternoon and when it was time for bed she asked if she could read two more books. We reached a compromise of one and then it was lights out. I went into her room to check on her after a half hour had passed and this what what I found ... my little reader sleeping with her book still opened to the page she was on. I totally melted. This is definitely one of the cutest things she's done lately.

Great minds ...

I had this great blog written earlier about Mother Teresa and how she's one of my heros. I was about to put the finishing touches on it and post it when I got a call from Drew telling me he had just posted a blog about ... guess what? ... Mother Teresa. I mean, I think it's great and all that we are so simpatico but come on ... ugh. Oh well. I decided not to post mine because I though it'd look like I don't have an original thought. I need to be quicker on the draw I guess.

International Hug Day.

In 2004 Juan Mann started the Free Hugs Campaign, a social movement involving individuals who offer hugs to strangers in public places. As a part of the campaign he started the International Hug Day. The campaign caught traction in 2006 with their music video by the Sick Puppies and an appearance on Oprah.

So, with that said ... lets get out there and dish out the love ... hug it out folks!

Most Hectic Weekend Ever!

Most people relax over the Thanksgiving holiday ... eat some turkey, maybe hang the Christmas lights, take in the latest movie. Not us. Not even close. Thanksgiving is one of the most hectic times for us. Not only did we have to do the whole holiday share thing again spending Thursday divided equally between my parents house and Drew's parents house ... but we also help put on the annual SafeHouse Chili Outreach. This year was extra busy because Drew also had a team of 20 students in town for the weekend as well! Yeah, I said it was hectic.

Chili Outreach was amazing ... even though the weather was not cooperative and the whole event had to be moved indoors at the last minute. We had a great client and volunteer turnout! Hundreds were fed, clothed in winter wear and connected to assistance of all types. Amazing day!

Needless to say, restful the weekend was not ... but it was so worth it. Now I think I need to sleep for a days to catch up.