Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

“When you go through tragedy, you can either let that destroy you and you become bitter and never let it go, or you can let it make you stronger and let it make you grow.” ~ Evanescence The reality is life's not a bed of roses. If anyone taught us this, it’s the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. For all the roses she had, she was still angry, bitter, broken and never happy. Life can deal us tragedy, pain and hurt just as much as it offers hope, joy and happiness. It all comes down to how we decide to play the hand we’re dealt. Personally, my life has been a constant struggle. I’m not just talking the physical disadvantages or disabilities either. I’m speaking of spiritual battles, emotional scuffles and mental brawls. Life is difficult. There's no other way around it. My children have learned this first hand. As life has had it, they’ve wrestled their own demons to the ground along the way. Jane Campion shares a wonderful perspective. She says this. “Tragedy mak...

I have a question for you. How’s life going right now? Is it working out for you? Are you happy with it? Better yet are you in love with your life?  Or are you possibly stumbling down the yellow brick road or maybe chasing the rainbows end? Most of life’s circumstances we don’t see coming that’s for sure. Those sweet and sour moments just kinda show up. We tend to forget our attitude changes everything. If we keep looking at life through a second rate, inadequate or deficient set of spectacles that’s exactly what we get, shabby and inept. But by choosing a different set of glasses (not the rose colored kind either) our perspective changes. See “Life is like a camera. Just focus on what’s important. Capture the good times. Develop from the negatives and if things don’t work out just take another shot.” Now I can’t say I have been in love with every moment of my life. Sadness, pain and difficulties have certainly had their two cents and then some. I have absolutely h...

Forgiveness is like a bridge, with water passing underneath.  It’s a word many of us like to use but fail to apply.  I’ve been faced with this same quandary, muddling around the perimeters of forgiveness.  We all have those chapters in our lives we wish could be forgotten, but that’s not exactly forgiveness is it? When we forgive we pardon, exonerate, show mercy. We don’t continue to carry around the wrongdoing, revisiting it like a parole meeting.  The problem with most of us is well we are human, so the offense, the infringement, the breach and the fault of the situation is not as easily let go.  We like to revisit the scene, like a CSI looking for evidence of the crime.  The problem with this practice is it leads to resentment, hostility, and bitterness because we can’t let go of the hurt we feel has been done to us. This practice and this kind of continual grudge holding only leads to contempt so we become the victim of our own grief, agony, de...