Disrupt the ordinary.......

Disrupt the ordinary and insert the extraordinary wonder of YOU and what you have to offer! - Recognize/Create opportunities to make good better and better Best.....Go the extra mile....brighten the way for someone. Grasp life with both hands.....Be Honest...Be Bold....Walk your Path...Take intelligent risks......Live out loud!

The status quo should not be the standard for your life.  If the ordinary feels like a box....step out of it and sing your own song....walk your own path. Disrupt what's uncomfortable and create opportunities where none exist that align themselves with your soul's calling. 

Be bold enough to be YOU....and that just might mean shaking a few things, people and places up....and that's a good thing......Disrupt!

Happy Mother's Day....

Today, Moms are celebrated and greeting card and flower shops recognize an increase in revenue. We shouldn't, however, dedicate just one day to such an honored assignment, but find ways each day to remind Moms of their special place in our hearts.

Mothers aren't just women who've given birth to a child. They are the warriors who step in and nurture every soul that they come in contact with. They will fight a bear on your behalf and challenge you to become the very best version of who you came here to be.  Yes, Mothers are more than we give them credit for.....

I am honored to be called "Mom" by my son and daughter and hope they know with each day of their lives that I love them with every part of my being. They are grown, yes, but I still think of them each morning, throughout the day and before I fall asleep each night, I say a prayer for them.  I'm always wondering whether they've eaten properly, flossed, had enough water, etc.....Yes, that list goes on and on and I continue to cheer each and every effort of whatever they attempt and excel at.

Today, honor the Mothers who have nurtured and encouraged you, fought for you, stood by you and smiled at you and reminded you to simply keep your head up and journey on. Honor the women who told/tell you that you were/are beautiful, loved and special and that you could/can achieve whatever you set your mind to do.  Honor the stranger who smiled/smiles at you and you never knew/know her name.  Today, honor the spirit of Motherhood and all that it brings.

Today, I'm grateful that Love transcends our physical limitations of hugs, hand-holding and kisses......Today I am embraced by my Mother and her spirit which resides in my heart each and every single day - Happy Mother's Day!

Something to ponder......and embrace

Instead of me blogging today, I thought I'd share  from Seth Godin's blog, of which I'm a fan.....I hope that you will enjoy and open yourself to new worldviews...

Who Do You Know?

Let's define "know" as... you're connected with them, in real life, by email or through a direct relationship online.
It might be someone in a different state, religious, atheist, straight, gay, in a developing country, a lawyer, a politician, struggling to pay the bills, ill, recovered, in recovery, a dedicated athlete, a computer programmer, angry at the system, an insider, an inventor, from a very different political stance, a pilot, unemployed, a millionaire, an inventor, a tax cheat, a gun owner, a rabble rowser or an adult without a driver's license.
Can you see them? Understand them? Ask them about what it's like to be them? Would you miss them if they were gone?
Sixty years ago, TV news changed everything, because it introduced us to ideas and places outside of our personal experience. Today, like it or not, despite the fact that we continue to segregate the places we choose to live by politics and race, the online social network is anti-gerrymandered. Connect with enough people and you can't help but bump into something outside your worldview.
The question is: now that we know these people, will we listen to them in an effort to understand? Tom Friedman famously wrote that there's never been a war between two nations that had McDonald's franchises in them. I wonder if we're going to develop a new sense of mass, one where it's harder than ever to demonize a group that contains your friends, even if they're merely online friends. Or, are we going to get better at hating people we know, at de-personalizing our experiences...
When they're no longer faceless strangers, is it more difficult to hate them?  - Seth Godin, posted 5/9/13

Rest in the present moment.......

True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears, but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so, wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not. — Lucius Annaeus Seneca

The Beauty of Springtime...

I love this time of year when everything is blooming......The magic of nature! Minus the pollen, I could spend most of my days outside.  These are a few shots of my backyard as the colorful nature parade begins.  Have a wonderful week ahead.....Enjoy the beauty of all that's coming to life around you.

Shameful Reporting.....

Journalistic reporting has become a sport for a select few 'on-air' personalities and media outlets.  Who gets to be the first to report the potential 'Best and Worst' news of the day? Yes, that's the gold ring, the objective....the prize for most  news outlets today.  "If it bleeds, it leads" has become their mantra.  It doesn't matter that most of what they choose to report is premature, inaccurate, irresponsible, etc. They're simply going for the ratings!

Today was a prime example of everyone getting it wrong and trying to back-peddle and justify 'some' of that wrong as being substantiated.  Well, it's disturbing to witness major outlets  making these claims without substantiated details from actual law enforcement and Federal officials, but from anyone closely related, even if they might have been a janitor in a federal building spreading the hearsay.

One reporter went so far as to give 'his' speculated, but detailed description of the alleged suspect by describing the suspected Boston bomber as a 'dark-skinned' male.  Wow......this is not to inform us of anything, but to try to push and imply and place blame on this as a possible foreign terrorism attack by someone who might not be 'American'.....Shame on this reporter and the network......By now, everyone should know I'm specifically referring to John King of CNN.  This also makes every dark-skin male in Boston become a suspect, because this is the profile that's being reported.

It's time for journalists to be responsible. You aren't in a closed journalism ring, sparring with an opposing network or reporter for a prize...you're actually 'On The Air'...yes, we can see and hear you. Can you at least Get it Right, if we're tuning in for factual reporting?

Well, I'm hoping that many people made decisions today about where they'll tune in for accurate news and updates.  I certainly made a change. The American people who tune in are looking for factual information...not what your personal opinions are. At least wait until you know what should be reported. Report the news and what actually IS news. Stick to your job description or find something else to do that requires you to speculate or entertain while on the air.

Celebrating "Jackie Robinson Day" - April 15th

  Celebrating "Jackie Robinson Day" - April 15th - Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947. As the first major league team to play a black man since the 1880's, the Dodgers ended racial segregation that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues for six decades. The example of Robinson's character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement.

In addition to his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, all but the first of which he played at second base, Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games, from 1949 to 1954, was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1997, Major League Baseball "universally" retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams; he was the first pro athlete in any sport to be so honored. Initiated for the first time on April 15, 2004, Major League Baseball has adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day," on which every player on every team wears #42.

Robinson was also known for his pursuits outside the baseball diamond. He was the first black television analyst in MLB, and the first black vice-president of a major American corporation. In the 1960's, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. In recognition of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.