Creative Inspiration for Passionate Living

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...

I can't count the number of times I have needed help. When I say need help, I don't mean "which shoes match this dress" kind of help; I mean having NO idea which way to turn in life. Instead of humbling myself to the reality that I couldn't exactly figure it out alone though, I quietly struggled through.  If someone recognized my need and offered, it was natural to turn them away instead of accepting the hand they offered.  In my worst times, I would not even pray for guidance or assistance - I know it's bad but thankfully I've matured past the praying issue at least. In spite of my pride and folly, I sometimes came out on top and of course felt proud of each accomplishment - especially when the struggle almost brought me to my knees. On the occasions when I didn't figure it out, I inevitably felt defeated or conceded that 'it just wasn't meant' in order to comfort myself. Some might argue that my attitude toward asking for help made me...