A Beacon of Light

“Bearers of gratitude make the world a better place.” ~ Pope Francis I try not to get too religious in my blog posts, but today is a special day — Holy Thursday. On this day each year, the Church enters into the most sacred three-day period of the liturgical calendar: the Triduum. It can be a bit confusing,…

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” ~ A. A. Milne I know neither where Joe was going, nor where he was coming from. What I do know is that something unexpected occurred. Joe was involved in a traffic accident which left him on life support at Valley Medical Center in…

“If all you did was just look for things to appreciate, you would live a joyously spectacular life.”  ~ Abraham Hicks In recent years, much has been written about the importance of developing the right mindset In our personal and professional lives. While the jargon may be new, the concepts of developing a positive attitude and living with…

Those who know me are well aware of the amazing young student from St. Victor School in San José who illustrated our book Cherries in the Summer. In the spring of 2021, while I was serving as a long-term substitute teacher at her school, I became aware of Vivian’s battle with depression. She had missed…

“Maybe that’s the best part of going away for a vacation — coming home again.”  ~ Madeleine L’Engle A week in the Bahamas. My time there was restful, a bit stressful, memorable, enjoyable, and essential. To wake up each morning and see the spectacular colors of the waters of Nassau Harbor from my hotel window was invigorating.…

“Perhaps some detours aren’t detours at all.Perhaps they are actually the path.”Katherine Wolf When I walked out of my sixth period class at St. Lawrence Academy in Santa Clara on the last day of school in 2015, I thought it would be my last day in the classroom as a teacher. Little did I know…

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson In August 1975, as I was preparing to leave the Bahamas and return home after teaching for a year at St. Augustine’s College in Nassau, one of the goodbyes to my Bahamian friends included this brief, but unforgettable verbal exchange: “I’m hoping to come back to…

“To lose patienceis to lose the battle.”~ Gandhi First of all, I’m not looking for any battles. I’ve made that mistake before. In my younger days, patience was not a virtue for which I was known. As I’ve aged, however, it has become one of my strengths. I’m writing this post from the waiting area…

“You aren’t wealthyuntil you have somethingmoney can’t buy.”~ Garth Brooks I don’t recall when or where I learned this, but the quote “You can’t take it with you” is spot-on. No matter how much material wealth we accumulate in our lifetime, when our life comes to an end, all those possessions stay here. A humbling…

Sometimes, all we have to do is show up. Be there. We may not know exactly what to say, nor what to do, so there can be a bit of awkwardness to the experience. In fact, in most cases, we don’t have to say or do anything at all. What’s important is that we make…