Posts Tagged: helping

Last Minute Gifts of Comfort & Joy

December 22nd, 2017
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Holiday Present

It’s the Friday before Christmas and it’s a good bet that you may have finished buying gifts for everyone on your list.

But there’s still time to think about buying one more gift.

This year you may want to put a special twist on your usual gift giving by buying a present for a loved one or friend who has died.

On the face of it, the idea may sound a little strange not really.

I saw this wonderful idea recently tweeted by Grief Compass in a series called the 12 Holidays of Grief and thought I would share it … Read More

Thankful Hearts

November 24th, 2016
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Wherever you happen to be gathering today, may you be with people who have thankful hearts and giving spirits. The diversity of Thanksgiving menus offered today reflects the healing powers of food, love, family and friends gathering with one celebration in mind.  Lasagna, Vietnamese soup or a traditional roasted turkey with all of the imaginable sides.  Today has been set aside on the national calendar to give thanks for the food and other gifts that are served and shared as a sign of gratitude for the many blessings we have received. While I recognize our desire to be thankful today,… Read More

Happy New 2014!

January 1st, 2014
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As I awake to the beginnings of a new day and a new year, I feel the air is crackling with the sense of possibilities. Let us embrace the unknown and untried. Let us go forward, secure in the knowledge that we are resilient. We can gain strength from our pain and, in turn, we will help others in their journey. For we are truly better together!  … Read More

A Broken Christmas Ritual

December 31st, 2013
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I can’t tell you why but for the first time in many years, I didn’t place a Christmas wreath on my husband’s marker at the cemetery. I thought about it.  I was going to do it.  But then I never did get around to it. I’m hoping that this doesn’t make me a bad person.I’m really hoping it just makes me a conflicted human being dealing with life the best way I know.Every Christmas since he died 10 years ago, I have made a personal ceremony out of placing a large Christmas wreath with a big red bow on his… Read More

Sonia Sotomayor

July 25th, 2013
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I am a big believer in the idea that when someone offers you a helping hand that you should turn around and offer your hand to help someone else. It’s the right thing to do and haven’t you also found that you always get more out of life when you become actively involved and emotionally invest in it?  I know I do! I’m guessing that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor practices this same philosophy because she recently went back to her childhood roots in the Bronx, NY and spent the day with young children from the Dream Big program… Read More

Unwanted Care

June 5th, 2013
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How do you try to take care of someone when they don’t want you to? I’m sure you must know a person you care about and perhaps even love who doesn’t want you to help them even though it is obvious that help is very much needed. You understand the frustration right? It’s the frustation of no matter how hard you try to offer various kinds of support, you never are able to do the right thing, the thing that will make them happy. This is what I know I can do: I call on the telephone, I listen, I… Read More

Heaven

May 23rd, 2013
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There’s a place where we all want to end up. We know it by name but where is it?  Where is Heaven? I was thinking about Heaven yesterday while attending the wake of a man who was one of my father’s best friends. This man was a good man, worked hard, had a wonderful wife and children and tried to do his best for others.  I’m sure he is in Heaven, wherever that is. I’m also sure that other people that I knew and loved are in Heaven: my husband, all of my grandparents, my aunt and uncles and some… Read More

Holiday Kindness

November 30th, 2012
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New York City Police Officer Helps Homeless Man Since everything can feel exaggerated during the holidays, doing one kind act can affect change and make a difference in someone else’s life.  Many times when I pass a homeless person on the street, especially if it’s a woman, I think, “There but for the grace of God go I.” If I can, I give money or food.  But the story below about the actions of a New York City police officer shows there is the opportunity to go further.  So many times we read or hear about the negative side of… Read More