So the day has arrived - I’m turning 59 - the official countdown to 60. How the hell did I get here so fast? In honor of this big day, I sat down and wrote out 59 things I now know to be true - sort of life lessons. If I’m lucky and I get to 60 next year, I’ll add another observation to the list. I’ll keep going for as long as I keep going. And if I’m lucky, I’ll create a really long list.
Read MoreI am living in the decade of reality: the very real sense that I’ve lived a full lifetime - and the knowledge that there’s less time, not more, has come crashing in on me. Today I’m reflecting on what I have I done and what am I going to do with what’s left of me.
Read MoreI want to live authentically as I was created - some of us are meant to bring living color to this otherwise “black and white” world. So I will celebrate the things that make me a bit different.
Read MoreThe journey of life unfolds unexpectedly - filled with highs and lows, moments of joy and times of deep sorrow. It’s easy when life is really good. But when things are really bad, finding meaning and creating purpose gives us something to hold to; something to live for; a reason to move forward. It gives us hope.
Read MoreGratitude is the music of the heart. Gratitude makes me a happier person. Gratitude gives me strength, reduces my stress, and, improves my outlook. Gratitude transforms the routine into joy; and causes the ordinary to become extraordinary. Gratitude is the ultimate spiritual practice.
Read MoreToday marks 1000 days without him… And I have discovered that I am not born with a fixed amount of resilience. I have more capacity than I knew to get through just about anything. I am stronger than I ever imaged.
Read More“It is my desire that people viewing my pictures will find that quiet, contemplative part of themselves. A place that allows them to feel some degree of peace in the midst of a storm." If you’ve taken the time to carefully view his photographs, I believe you’ll discover what he hoped you’d see: peace.
Read MoreI think most people who have not dealt with direct loss of a child tend to believe that the overwhelming emotion tied to grief is sadness. I can confirm that I only wish that grief could be defined so simply. Grief is a powerful cocktail of emotions that - at times - become all consuming.
Read MoreOne of life's greatest revelations happens the moment we finally realize the prison bars we’ve been banging our cup on - the feelings that we are flawed or don’t quite measure up - are actually spaced far enough apart to walk through.
Read MoreGrief is the price of deeply loving someone. Grief’s presence is a testament to the endless love I felt for my son - and that love has to have somewhere to go - it didn’t end when his life ended. The fact that I am feeling such a deficit in grief’s presence is a celebration of how blessed I’ve been, to have someone for whom I grieve so fully. The love for a lost son pouring out of my soul with nowhere to go - so it materializes in tears.
Read MoreGrief visits again. It’s fog descending upon me on the anniversary of my son’s death. I lost my handsome 25 year old son 2 years ago today. And it feels like only yesterday.
I’ve felt everything from anger at God to wondering if God exists at all. Having faith in anything is hard after losing a child. Yet faith is essential to survive such an ordeal.
Read MoreEvery year we make 1 more trip around the sun. And along the way is a pathway littered with both the good and the bad - and memories made in the best of times and the worst of times.
Read MoreScott and I go together like "peanut butter and chocolate" - or that was at least what our team thought. Scott is the chocolate - I'm the peanut butter. Together, we shared a magical moment, and I left the stage feeling gratitude. The audience was the real teacher. And all the learning of the day was wrapped inside their stories.
Read MoreTo truly be champions of the freedom of people - the true pursuit of life, liberty and happiness - we must be concerned with every miscarriage of justice, every unreasonable limitation of liberty, every arbitrary act of court or state house or capital.
Read MoreOf all the lessons a man or woman must learn to be truly human, tolerance may well be the hardest.
Read MoreAll I have to offer is my voice, my hands and my actions. And regardless of what Washington does (or doesn't do) I will continue to advocate for those who do not have the strength, the health, nor the resources to advocate for themselves.
Read MoreCreating a compelling future begins with accepting and embracing the present. Tomorrow is built on the back of today.
Read MoreI am learning that living with a grateful heart unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough.
Read MoreWe are never truly great merely for what we are --- but for what we may become. Spend this day becoming...
Read MoreMay our Country continue to be a place where human rights, freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are always part of our vocabulary.
Read More
