There are some days – as I’m reading about the latest scandal, shooting spree, or stalemate in Washington, for instance – when I wonder if and how we as a nation and a society are going to survive. On days like this, I truly worry about the fate of our country and the world. There are other days when I see such exciting signs of promise and potential that it’s all I can do not to jump up and cheer out loud. Last Friday was [...]
It was extremely and unseasonably foggy last Sunday morning – the kind of fog that feels surreal if you’re out driving in it because at times it is so thick that you can’t see anything around you. Even the deacon who delivered the sermon at Mass commented on it, noting that he had to be extra careful while driving to church from his home that morning. “What it really did,” he said, “was make me slow down.” He went on to talk about what a [...]
“You’re passionate about what you’re doing, and you really care about the people you’re working with.” I’d love to tell you this was something that was said about me, but it wasn’t. It was said to my friend Ruth, and it’s something she shared with me when we got together recently to catch up on what’s been going on in our lives. Ruth is an indoor cycle instructor. She leads classes at the fitness centers where she works, and she is so good at what [...]
“The sun’ll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun…” I smiled as I listened to a powerhouse voice belting out the popular song from the musical, “Annie.” But I wasn’t at the theatre experiencing it live, or listening to a CD of the soundtrack in my car or home. I was in the checkout line at the grocery story. The singer – whom I couldn’t even see at first because she was so tiny and was on the other side [...]
What would you do if you were fearless? That question came up during a meeting I attended last Thursday. It was a planning session for a “Fearless Women” event that’s going to take place later this year, and as we discussed the event and the question, I had no idea how – or how often – the issues of fear and fearlessness would come up in the next 30 hours. The first instance, shocking and frightening, was when I woke up the next morning to [...]
“I love you from here to heaven!” That’s what my friend Lucy always tells her twin grandsons. In a way, she’s doing the same thing many of us did when our children or grandchildren were small – spreading our arms out as far as we could while answering our own question of “Do you know how much I love you?” with a stretched-out “Soooooo much.” Or reaching up to the sky, proclaiming “Soooooo big,” as we let our toddlers know how grown-up they were becoming. [...]
“Count Your Blessings” was the theme of our Toastmasters meeting last week, and the person in charge of Table Topics decided to focus on gratitude. As she opened up that portion of the meeting, she told us that in preparation, she had Googled the word “gratitude.” What she said next caught me totally by surprise. “I’m not sure what made me think to do this,” she said, “but after I typed in ‘gratitude,’ I added the name, ‘Betty Liedtke.’ Do you know how many hits [...]
I got taken to task on Saturday – not once, but twice. Actually, that wording is a little too strong. What happened is that I was reminded – in a gentle and encouraging way – that I haven’t been living up to some of my responsibilities and expectations. I was at a Toastmasters Educational & Leadership Institute, which is held twice a year for the training of club officers, presentation of educational sessions, and announcements of the winners of various awards and contests. One of [...]