Being human my way

"There is a certain way of being human that is my way. I am called upon to live my life in this way, and not in imitation of anyone else's life. But this notion gives a new importance to being true to myself. If I am not, I miss the point of my life; I miss what being human is for me."
—   Charles Taylor, Canadian philosopher

If you could only sense how important you are...

"If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person." ~ Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers

A Reality We Cannot Avoid

There are realities we cannot avoid.  One of them is the importance of self-esteem.


Regardless of what we do or do not admit, we cannot be indifferent to our self-evaluation.  However, we can run from this knowledge if it makes us uncomfortable.   We can shrug it off, evade it, declare that we are only interested in "practical" matters, and escape into baseball or the evening news or the financial pages or a shopping spree or a sexual adventure or a drink.


Yet self-esteem is a fundamental human need.  Its impact requires neither our understanding nor or consent.  It works its way within us with or without our knowledge.  We are free to seek to grasp the dynamics of self-esteem or to remain unconscious of them, but in the latter case we remain a mystery to ourselves and endure the consequences.


~ Nathaniel Branden, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem

Beyond Nancy Drew

Resources regarding the role of girls/women in the home, society, culture. For parents who want to offer their daughters resources to be themselves.

See the article here: A Guide to Girls' Literature

Any Other World

The unusual video below by Mika, carries a challenging message.  It asks us to "Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in."

What is that world?  Maybe it's a world of despair.  Maybe of defeat.  Maybe of sadness.  Maybe it's a world that seems so unfair and unbalanced.  Maybe it's a world of tears and sorrowful moods.  Maybe it's a world where you feel isolated, lonely, unloved.

Some people go their entire lifetime living in this kind of world.  The everyday requirements of survival keep them caught up in it.  A job to pay the bills.  A house or apartment to keep up.  Food to buy and eat.  People to care for or someone to need.

It all goes by so slowly but so quickly too until one day you wonder what the hell happened.  Why were you never fulfilled or happy or loved.

There are ways to say goodbye to that world and create a world where you live with a certain amount of peace, and self respect, and feelings of goodness and accomplishment, and real never to be forgotten experiences of love.

As the song below says, "Smile like you mean it and let yourself let go."  Take a risk.  Find a friend and be a friend.  Someone needs you as much as you need someone.  Take a risk.  Pursue that interest, that secret desire to create something that is uniquely yours--a book, a piece of art, a part in a community play, a song sung before an audience, a poem, a good deed for someone who needs a good deed.  Take a risk.  Create a world you love living in.

Simple Wisdom

"Not only are you what you think you are, more so; what you think, you are."
Anthony J. D'Angelo, Education Reformer

Our Sense of Self--Good or Sour

"There is a period of life when we swallow a knowledge of ourselves and it becomes either good or sour inside."
—Pearl Bailey, Singer/Actress