Author Archives: bethpow06
FMM 8 18 2023 Change the Narrative
“Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.” ~Thomas Gray. My father was a man that many confided in. Whether it was because of his profession (a minister and teacher) or personality, he had a ready ear, and gentle words of advice. Of course, as his kids, we may have heard words that were […]
FMM 8 11 2023 The Price of Greatness
“We have, I fear, confused power with greatness.” ~ Stewart Udall. The year after Jamaica attained Independence from the colonial power of Britain, my father bravely (with his entire family and all our worldly goods) took us across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean island of Jamaica. I was the youngest, so I had very […]
FMM 8 4 2023 Grinding Gears
“The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind small.” Sextus Empiricus. The first time I had anything to do with changing gears in a manual (stick shift) car, I was about nine or ten. A group of us children were driven to school in an Austin Cambridge, by the uncle of one of […]
FMM 7 28 2023 Whither the Weather?
“I have forgotten much, but still remember Poinsettia’s red, blood-red, in warm December.” ~ Claude McKay. When I left England at age almost eight, it was a rainy, damp place. Skies and buildings were drab and grey. I am sure there was sunshine, occasionally, but it was in sharp contrast to the tropical island we […]
FMM 7 21 2023 True Colors
“There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi. Early in my marriage, my home was a place where there would be consequential arguments about significant topics like historical and social injustice. Friends who came over would be engaged in […]
FMM 7 14 2023 Gossamer Threads
“People find meaning and redemption in the most unusual human connections.” ~ Khaled Hosseini. I have always believed in the mind-body connection, understanding that the whole body is connected, in ways we can only begin to imagine. I often recommend practices that help to still the ‘monkey mind’, one that jumps from thought to thought, […]
FMM 7 7 2023 In Harmonium
“The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is, because man is disunited with himself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. My parents were both musicians. Both played piano and organ (in the church). My mother could read music, and taught all of us kids to do so also. Whether we learnt […]
FMM 6 30 2023 Finding Family
‘In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. ‘ ~Alex Haley. For most of my life I have lived apart from my nuclear family. Despite having numerous cousins on both sides, I have never lived close enough to bump into one in my neighborhood. In fact, most of […]
FMM 6 23 2023 Triggered!
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” ~ Viktor E. Frankl. I was not a child who could shrug off being teased. As the youngest I was particularly sensitive to being a step behind […]
FMM 6 16 2023 Cold Comfort Clichés Upcycled
“Motivation will almost always beat mere talent.” ~Norman Ralph Augustine. I learned more about muscle groups and their functions in the gym than I ever did in nursing school. To be honest, forty plus years ago, my hospital based nursing school had a system designed for you to learn on the wards, caring for real […]
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