World AIDS Day

On this 33rd World AIDS Day, I remember all those who died, all who are living with HIV, all the men and women working for a cure, and I remember my friends. Randy Shilts, who died before I got to know him very well, wrote the book And The Band Played On, about the early days of AIDS.  Randy also once said “What society judged was not the severity of the disease but the social acceptability of the individuals affected with it.”

giving

Robert Louis Stevenson said "You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving."  

Oh and it's a perfect time to mention that today is GIVING TUESDAY.  Be as generous as you are able.

the seasons

The pumpkins and the fall leaves and the changing colors at this time of year is fun for me.  The cold and snow are just ahead.  That may be fun for you.  Summer?  Spring?  Do you have a favorite season?  How about the season of giving?  The season of kindness (which I believe to be all year) is really my favorite time!

groan

No matter how kind you are,
        German children are kinder!

Patriotism

Grateful for all who have served in our military, I was thinking of what it means to be a patriot, and these words from Theodore Roosevelt helped answer my question.  "Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country."

one of those days

Today seems to be one of those days.  I slept late (which I never day) and when I finally dragged myself out of bed, I felt all kinds of yucky.  Slow down!  There's a holiday this Thursday and another one a few Thursdays later.  Just because today didn't begin great, doesn't mean it has to be a bad day!  I'm going to be very kind to myself, and of course I'll be kind to others!

We don't take days off

It's Sunday, so no work for many and no school, and therefore no need to be kind, right? WRONG! I'm not serious.  We don't take a day off from caring about others. Being good and kind is an everyday occurrence we should practice every single day!