The headline in The New York Times (April 24) said:
”80 Are Killed in 3 Suicide Bombings in Iraq, One by a Woman in an Aid Line.”
The story went on to say that the suicide bomber in Baghdad was said by Iraqi officials to have held a young child’s hand as she set off her explosives among a group of women and children receiving emergency food aid.

And I asked myself: how could this be? How could anyone do something so terrible while holding a child’s hand? Has the world come to this that there is no value to life –one’s life, a child’s life, the lives of others nearby? What has brought us to this?

Is this what hatred brings: the hate of others because of their religion or politics, the hate of foreigners?

I have tried, as best as I can, to live a life that respects the lives and values of others — they do not have to share my point of view or my spiritual beliefs or my race — but they do share my humanity. Who among us does not wake up at 3 a.m. in the morning worrying about things, about family, about work, about health? We all share the same fears and hopes no matter what our background is. Why then do some of us disregard the value of our lives and cause death and pain in others?

I am shaken by the news. I lose faith and the sense of hope that I have held most of my life that no matter how bad things out they will somehow get better if we will hope, if we work at it. But now, I am not so sure anymore. How can one ever overcome the sense of hate or despair that causes a person holding a child’s hand to blow herself and others up, to destroy life?

Please share your own thoughts with me. How can we have a better world than this one with all its war and fighting and hatred? I have run out of answers.

Imagine you were an environmental hero. What brave deeds would you to to save the Earth, and what would you call yourself?

Imagine that, like the poet Walt Whitman, you are writing a poem, a rhyme, a song of your self. What would you write? What song would you sing?

I read the following message on a list-serv group to which I belong:

The six most important words  – ”I admit that I was wrong!”

The five most important words — ”You did a great job.”

The four most important words — ”What do you think?”

The three most important words — ”May I help?”

The two most important words — ”Thank you!”

The one most important word — ”We.”

The least important word — ”I”

Well, what do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the above?  What do you think the six most important words are? The five most important? The four most important? The three most important? The two most important? The one most important?  

The LEAST important word?

Please send in your own important words to us.  It would be good to hear different points of view.

There was a news report that a man in Michigan who won $10,000 in the state lottery and who decided to donate his winnings to a local charity.
The man, Jim Dancy, was quoted as saying: ”I was heavily influenced by my close friend Julie, who taught me to think of others first, and to stop and think about what life is really about. I know the needs in the community are great right now, so for me it was the right thing to do.”
Am amazing, unselfish, kind act, isn’t it?
Do you think this is something you might be capable of doing, too?
Now, think back for a moment to your own life. Was there some time in your life when someone also extended a great kindness, a generous act to you or your family? Was it something you didn’t expect and did it have an important impact on your life? What was the act? Who was the person who was so good to you?
Please share your generous acts with us.

It’s Easter time, my favorite holiday. In my mind it is associated with Spring and with renewal. In recent days, reading about the economy, I came across two phrases that linger in my mind –”glimmers of hope” and ”green shoots.” Those being quoted, including President Obama, were referring to some positive developments in the economy. But I want to apply these phrases to our own lives.

If we carefully examine our lives, and those of the people we love, will we also be able to see these glimmers of hope and green shoots sprouting around us? The question to be asked is: What are the positive aspects of our own lives?; what are the things going on in our lives that we should recognize and give thanks for?

This Easter Sunday I received a beautiful, loving letter from my daughter who expressed appreciation for some of the things that my wife and I brought nto her life when she was growing up. The letter touched me, particularly after having come through a very painful week of hurt, and brought hope back into my own life. I was truly blessed today.

So take a moment to think about your own life and focus on the glimmers of hope that are there for you, and see if you can find shoots of green that enrich and nourish your life.
Write about what you  see and consider sharing with us.

This is a fine thought or vision I had one morning while sitting quietly at my kitchen table:

(This prompt comes from my book, Doodles & Daydreams: Your Passport for Becoming An Escape Artist, by Bill Zimmerman.)