Creative Inspiration for Passionate Living

My brother and I are really close. If I am looking for a pat on the back, I can count on his strong, gentle hand.  One evening, I called him to vent about a matter that had my gears shifting.  He listened as usual but instead of siding with me, he asked me a series of questions that helped me understand that I was wrong for my actions though my emotions were well justified.  Tough pill to swallow but great medicine all the same. Today's Inspiration Encouragement Breeds Confidence; Admonishment, Humility Bring on the accolades, let the compliments fly!  We love to be praised and why wouldn't we? It feels so good.  Some enjoy praise so much till they surround themselves with people who only tell them what they want to hear - dangerous, dangerous, dangerous. Just as we need and enjoy praise, our social circle is complete when we are surrounded by people who will also keep our egos in check.  We continue to learn and grow when we have loved ...

I got a distress call from my daughter during my evening commute today.  She sounded perturbed as she explained that she was giving up on her literature assignment and was ready to accept a zero (along with the consequences).  The next phase of a major paper was due but she was having trouble developing her outline.  She knows bad grades are a sore point so to declare that a bad grade was good enough meant she was truly at her wits end. I asked her what she needed and all she wanted was for me to say something to make her feel better.  I advised her to take a break, told her I knew she was capable and told her to relax until I made it home. I grabbed her a Snicker candy bar and gave her a big hug as soon as I walked in the door.  We laughed a little bit, ate dinner together then got back to the task of her outline.  In less than 15 minutes, she had her creative juices flowing again. She was figuring things out and she felt capable of completing the tas...