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Let's Hope Together + Make Your List + C'Mon, I'm Alexa

Good Morning from the Fair Isle in the Sea,
 
Time for a cuppa today? Great. Thank you for allowing me the time to be with you.
 
Let’s Hope Together
 
Leadership is...
 
Island Richard Pellissier-Lush, Lennox Island First Nation football coach wins national Indigenous award for work on and off the field.
 
'It's about really creating … community leaders and successful adults'
 
His recognition goes a long way to giving hope and inspiration to young people.
 
Thank you, CBC, for sharing his story
 
“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.” – Nelson Mandela.
 
I can’t help think that it is all anybody wants. It is all I want.
 
“Hope is important because it can make the present moment
less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better,
we can bear a hardship today.” – Thich Nhat Hanh.
 
Thinking about what stands in the way of clear unadulterated hope. Taking the time to analyze my anxiety, I discovered a bedrock of fear.
 
The neat thing is a large part of the cure is getting the diagnoses.
 
Worry is an active negative imagination; causing stress and distress.
 
I took the time to write down some the worries and I was going to share. But for fear of transferring mine to you, I removed the list.
 
"When you’re faced with a choice, choose to inspire,
choose to empower, choose to stand for those who have
lost the will to stand for themselves." ~ Orly Wahba
 

In the arena of self-care, there are a few things I will spend time doing today. I started earlier identifying the worries and writing them down. But, later today, I will determine and write out the worst possible outcome of those fears. I will decide to accept it or take the necessary steps to work against it.

I found great ideas that I know are helpful in this 3 minute Seven Anxiety Busting Tips article as well.

 
“A leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable
for finding the potential in people and processes.” ~ Brene Brown
 
A Chinese woman’s parents divorced when she was young. Her Dad died not long after remarrying, and things were not going well in her new life. She took many jobs in a large city with none finding a place in her heart. Liziqi moved to be with her grandparents in a rural part of Szechuan Province in China. She started creating videos showing the ‘traditional’ ways of living. And while sharing them on Chinese social media, her videos became very popular. 
 
“Learn from yesterday, live for today; hope for tomorrow.
The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein.
 
In this video, we learn that her grandmother and grandfather are her everything. China is the first country to invent silkworm rearing. And Liziqi shows us how she uses silkworm cocoons to make a quilt and pyjamas for her grandmother.
She found her place and she found her heart. 
 

This a beautifully recorded video. I find her YouTube channel showing many other traditions quite inspiring as well.

 

“I don't want to live in the kind of world where we don't look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I can’t change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit.” ― Charles de Lint.

 

Denzel Washington is one of my favourite actors. He delivered an address at the University of Pennsylvania's 255th Commencement. The commencement speech, in part, is used in the creation of the following video. I hope you enjoy it. 

Today, I am listening to an album called, 'some kind of peace.'

Ólafur Arnalds is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer. Mixing strings and piano with loops and beats, he creates a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric popIn his own words...
 
“I wanted to make an album that was more direct from the heart.” Ólafur Arnalds tells Apple Music. “Really, it’s about my own life, and it’s about my relationships. Some kind of peace sees the inventive composer travel to a new, more personal territory. Spurred along by the circumstances of a very unusual year. “The pandemic reminds us of the importance of communities, and it reminds us of the importance of our daily rituals and our connections with each other,” says Arnalds. “That’s what I explore here.”
 
 
Life isn’t happening to you. It’s just happening. Don’t take anything personally. Take it spiritually and look for the blessing.
 
I wish you and yours a peace-full weekend.
 
With love from Prince Edward Island.
 
Sincerely,
 
Bruce & Millie
 
ps. Your Morning Smile
 
John asked his phone, “Siri, why am I so bad with women?”
 
She said, “I’m Alexa, you moron.”
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Comments

beth - November 9, 2020

Bruce, Thanks for being inspiring!

Suzi - November 9, 2020

Orly Wahba’s quote reminded me of a card I have that states, “Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly!” Card has a cute angel sitting on a heart. Different cause in standing, but the power in friendship, we can keep on, standing, flying, or marching onward!
And Denzel Washington’s speech, beautiful! And, the power of words of encouragement can work wonders!
Beautiful blog Bruce!

Murdock Morrison - November 9, 2020

Leadership, hope and compassion – three powerful qualities that you have given us in this quote and they are the qualities that the new president of the US gave us in his speech to his country and Joe Biden epitomizes what this country needs today – truth, honesty and hope. After reading your blog, I immediately felt the need to connect with what just happened in the US election as we all know that these qualities have been missing for the past 4 years. Hope that you understand my feelings after reading your excellent blog. Murdock

Valarie LaBore - November 8, 2020

Thank you for sharing the video on the silk worms. Since I often sew with silk (mostly taffeta) it was interesting to see how it begins, and I shared that with my fellow sewing friends.
Val

Julie - November 8, 2020

Loved the video with Liziqi. I have seen her videos before where she goes to gather vegetables & meat to cook a meal for herself & her grandparents. She is amazing! Thanks for sharing that particular episode. I am always interested to see what she is going to show next. ;)

Annie - November 8, 2020

Thank you so much for this hope-filled post today. I needed it more than you can imagine, and I am sharing with some close friends and family who also need it today.

God bless you and your family!

Jean Weiss - November 7, 2020

This was the perfect blog for today. With all the division in our world its nice to see so many taking the lead with hope, caring and compassion. Yes, it is about taking responsibility too. You always lift me up. PS – I love the laughs I get from your Morning Smiles.

Elaine - November 7, 2020

You are right on Bruce. Hope anchors the soul and in such times as these hope shines light on all the craziness around us. If people would only realize that hate only corrodes the container that carries it and would instead work together for good then everyone would benefit and we could stand united. May God help us all if we cannot figure out how to serve each other in kindness and respect.

Linda Batten - November 7, 2020

A great read, thanks!
I especially enjoyed the Denzel Washington speech. I hadn’t heard that before. So inspirational!

althea - November 7, 2020

Hahahahaha! First time Alexa has made sense to me. Or maybe after an unexpectedly busy/hectic week, this helped to release needed laughter and joy. Thanks. 25 years ago I received an Xmas card reading: Peace is not a season. It is a way of life. I have carried that card on my nomadic wanderings. Today, anchored due to this pandemic, it hangs on a wall to remind me to be peace. Be happy, be well, be love, be peace, Bruce. (and everyone else).

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