PIF - Paying it forward...

Much of what I post about here on this blog may help others in some way, but it's not always uplifting - topics of homelessness, domestic violence, sexual assault and child sexual assault are not usually the "go to" topics for a smile or uplifting news.

As it is is - right now I have a post brewing in my head and as soon as I am able to focus and find the needed words it will be written - but again, it will not be uplifting - rather it will place emphasis on cracks in the systems - the justice system -and how those cracks feed the cycle of abuse.

Lessons - and perhaps seeds that will one day grow and fill some of those cracks - but until that day happens...it cannot be considered uplifting.

So, having said that - the content on this blog is just one aspect of me - my vents - the others aspects of me are rarely seen here - my subtle...yet slap ya in the face sarcasm - doesn't always show through, nor does the fact when I need a little cheerful reading...encouragement - I find it in sites such as The Pay it Forward Experience- real life examples of people doing good deeds for no other reason than to share goodwill.

So, if you haven't heard of the Pay it Forward Experience, I suggest you check out their new blog site. Get on the email list by emailing Charley charley@pifexperience.org - If you do, about once a week -and usually when you need it most - you will get a simple little email with just a couple of quotes in it - and I guarantee after a while of receiving them there will be a part of you wondering if the sender is psychic, because they always seem to fit life at the moment you read them. I've been on that list for about 2 years now - and just when I need a smile, those emails seem to come.

Below are some quotes Charley has recently emailed out to those on the list:

Happiness is the single greatest competitive advantage in this economy
- "Mike Ferry"

You can either fit in or stand out, not both. You are either
defending the status quo or challenging it. Playing defense and
trying to keep everything "all right" or leading and provoking and
striving to make everything better - "Seth Godin"

It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one

can float with it. - "John Crowe"

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what

nobody has thought - "Albert Szent Gyorgi"

Imagine if "Someday" was today, what would you be doing? - "Lindon Corbin"

Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original
dimensions - "Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr."

Earlier this week I was down - depressed - stressed - life can do that - So, I stopped by the new blog at the The Pay it Forward Experience- and watched a video they had highlighted - now imagine if there was one of these in every town...downtown...the heart of every city, every village - rural, suburban...and urban - Maybe, just maybe as a country we would be less divided, and more united:

History Shrouded in Mold - Part 1

Sipping my morning coffee I sit on my bed looking out almost century old windows and into the backyards of my neighbors. This morning was no different. The sky is grey and there is a slight chill in the air, reminding me that outside that glass is another world filled with life and adventure, stories to tell and lessons to be learned...knowledge to be gained. In other words, hope. That sentiment brings back the emotions I felt as a little girl. Then, I sat on my bed looking out the massive Victorian era windows of the 3rd floor apartment we called home. It was in the mid 70s -Evanston, Illinois. I loved being able to see into the green of the trees that lined our street. Between the leaves and branches was another world playing out before my eyes. The birds, the squirrels and sometimes even a stray cat - they lived out a day in their life without ever knowing they had an audience taking in their story. I would spend a lot of time watching them and getting to know their personalit

A Pay it Forward Christmas...

The Christmas Clues came all month long.....a month filled with constant motion ..chaos...stress...and deep inside me the usual holiday dread. Those clues helped to divert my attention away from the emptiness that has been in me for the last few years.... Those memories of a large family coming together where I was the hostess for all the holiday feasts....the memories that usually remind me of the last few years and how much the boys and I have lost when domestic violence entered our home...and what destruction it left in it's wake. Yes, the clues had me looking forward to time that in the last three years or so I would wish I could close my eyes around mid-November and wake up on Jan 1st - yes, me...the one time overly merry hostess had turned bitter towards the holidays. This is the first year in a very long time that I have actually looked forward to Christmas.... That Secret Santa...and those elves....must have known that I was dreading another Christmas...another holiday in

Daniel A. Woolverton - A Rapist you will and SHOULD not forget

Daniel A. Woolverton The picture above is of a West Point graduate (Class of 1997) who went on to have a military career that most men at one time were little boys dreaming about as they played with their G.I. Joe's and Army Men. A sweet face, I am sure as a mother, his own mother worried about his safety every waking moment while he was enlisted. This is him - that same once good looking - waiting to to take on the world, young man. Life has taken a toll, that is obvious - at first glance you might think that the horrors his eyes seen as a former JAG officer eventually led him down the path of self medication and drug abuse. His soul appears to be lost behind those eyes - Truth is, after reading and taking what I have learned since receiving an email today to his story- He never had a soul - at least one with a conscience to begin with. The headline in the email asking to me to consider telling this story on this blog read: NEWS: Disbarred US Arm

Thankfully Chewed Up and Spat Back Out!

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