There are certainly times when we may (in our right mind) feel no fear. To have that internal calm makes action easy. But there are also times when we cannot get in touch with a sense of peace about action before us. But if the action before us is certainly for our good – if we know in our bones what the next step is, we cannot allow fear to keep us from good.

Perhaps a ‘healthy dose’ of fear can keep us from taking action in pride or arrogance. Maybe fear protects us. After all, buckling our seat belts or wearing a helmet may have at their core a tiny speck of fear, disguised as cautious reason. But when we now that fear is limiting us – keeping us from a future we know is right for us – we cannot afford to let fear hold us back.

So while I would love to wish you a #FearlessFriday, my friend, I hope that even if facing fear, you will find the courage to act, even in the face of fear. When you know in your heart that it’s time to take positive action towards a worthy goal, do it – even if you have to do it scared.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.      – Nelson Mandela

As a personal favor, PLEASE take a minute to save this phone number in your contacts NOW. Yes, please do it now. By having this number handy you may have an opportunity to truly be a lifesaver!

1-800-723-TALK (8255) is the National Suicide Hotline. It is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Often, when a person is having a suicidal crisis, a simple simple question and a small act of support can change an otherwise tragic trajectory. Have the number handy. Save it in your phone now.

More often than we may realize, there a persons in a suicidal crisis around us. This number (and the compassion you show when you share it) can be a game-changer! You can be a life saver!

Thank you! And while we’re at it, why not ask a couple friends to save this number to their phones, too? You never know who may need it!

Thanks for being awesome!

One the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, may I suggest that you choose from the inspiring quotes below, one to hold in your heart today – or perhaps for longer. Mandela had much to say about liberty, education, struggle, and human dignity. May you find a pearl of inspiration that will move and change you.

If you’re feeling content, but you know in your heart there is a difficult change you should make – I think Mandela would ask you to pursue that change.

There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

If you’re feeling stagnant or stuck – I think Mandela would urge you to do act in spite of fear.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

If you’re feeling defeated by past experiences – I think Mandela would encourage you to try again (and again.)

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

If you’ve accomplished a challenging goal – I think Mandela would applaud you and expect you to support and assist others achieve their goals.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Happy Birthday, President Mandela!

Here’s another thought-provoking quote by  Brazilian author and lyricist, Paulo Coelho, to hopefully help move our week in a positive direction. (I forgot how much I love this guy, so watch for more of his wise words in the future.) 

“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”

Think about this quote and consider whether you have seen evidence of it’s truth in your life or in the lives of others around you.

Can you be certain that it’s true – that it will be true for you? Perhaps, perhaps not.  You may ‘know in your bones’ that the quote is true. If so, I wish you have courage to act upon it! But perhaps you think it only might be true. That’s no reason to completely dismiss an idea, right? It still might be a path that’s important for you. So go ahead a try something new, if only to combat stagnation. If you’re undecided as to whether it’s absolutely true, you can always choose to believe it – even in the absence of evidence.

Aim for a lofty goal and see what happens!

DFTYA!

Who says that Friday the 13th is unlucky? And why would we want to let ‘them’ decide what sort of day we’re going to have? I happen to think that today is going to be a wonderful day.

On Fridays, not only do I get to serve brave and hopeful folks who are willing to battle their addictions, but we have pizza! And today is the Friday that the therapy dog comes to visit us! What’s unlucky about that?

And after work today, I have the privilege of officiating a wedding for a lovely couple. So I’m feeling very lucky today. And when all is said and done, my opinion counts when it comes to what kind of day I’ll have.

So shoving superstition aside, today is your lucky day (just because we say so!)

Good things are going to happen today.

Count on it.

Expect it.

Make it so.

(I double-dog dare you!)

#IFeelLucky
#LuckyFriday

Many years ago I read “The Alchemist” by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. Today rarely a day goes by when I don’t think or speak of the book or it’s central theme. I recently heard a quote by Coelho and searched to find that it is from a book I have not yet read.

Without reading the book, the quote impresses me as being true. It is similar to other truths I know. It even sounds like advice I have given. I have often found that advice I’ve offered to others has also been important for me. So today I will share a quote. It invites the reader (and the writer) to choose to see adversity as adventure. I hope that it is helpful advice for at least one of us!

“I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It’s all a question of how I view my life.”  – Paulo Coelho

Photo credit: Niels Akermann

A journey to the top of a mountain or the journey to a neighbor’s house both begin with a step. Some climbs can seem dizzying and even impossible at times. But even a small step gets us moving and then – almost anything becomes more possible than it was when we were inert.

Most of what we learn and accomplish is accomplished in small, repeatable steps. Epiphanies happen, allowing heroic and unfathomable deeds to be done, but most of human learning and growing is done in lots of tiny steps. Fear not, the path grows shorter the instant we dare to move forward. Yes, stepping out can be uncomfortable for sure, but… staying somewhere we don’t belong is far more uncomfortable.

At the risk of stating the obvious, if you take one step and you’ll be one step closer.

And if you remember the year 1980 and the Doobie Brothers, there’s this:

Take good care of you today and take (at least) a step in that worthwhile direction.

During the first week of summer (in the northern hemisphere) our minds might be full of plans for a trip to the beach, a camping excursion, vacation, or weddings.

It’s the season for popsicles, picnics, and popcorn at the bandstand on a buggy, muggy night. The swooning woodwinds and blaring trumpets occasionally accompanied by the swelling sound of a mosquito near an ear.

Perhaps summer conjures memories of walking a secluded beach at sunrise, bathed in the quiet roar and rumble of the surf as the gulls scratch the blue sky with their calls.

Wandering and wondering as one walks among the trees in a favorite forest, seeking shelter and shade in the sanctuary of towering trees.

Please be sure to make time to just breathe and be still. Experience this season, this day, this hour, this moment. Whatever comes to your mind as we round the corner into another season, may we practice acceptance of the changes that always come.

#DFTYA!

The value of a brisk walk can probably not be overestimated! Even a short walk can bring meaningful change to our physical, mental, and emotional state. So make it a goal to make time for a walk today – even if it’s only five minutes.

And while you’re walking, try to focus extra attention on just one of your senses at a time for a a minute or two.

Smell all of the scents there are, pleasant or otherwise, trees in bloom or chimney plume.

Feel the way the ground meets your foot, sense the breeze as it moves through your hair or across you cheek, and then moves limbs or leaves or dust around you.

Hear the sounds that surround you, some near and some distant, some natural, some human made, birds, laughter, horns honking, and perhaps even the sound of silence.

See the light and shadows play across your path. Watch as clouds slowly morph from shape to shape.

And then if you can, allow yourself to be engulfed in all of those pieces of the world around you. See, feel, and hear a moment as you breathe deeply.

Please do make time for a walk today, and as I do I will be thinking of you.