Category Inspirational

FMM 2 10 17 Cations for Change

“Every day brings new choices.”~ Martha Beck.  My mother had a special personality.  She could be quite harsh, but often didn’t realize how that came across.  She was, in fact, a contrarian, not trying to be like others, she never made an effort to fit in.  But she had a sense of humor, and could […]

FMM 2 3 17 Fine Print

“The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings.”~Albert Schweitzer.  My father-in-law was a simple man.  His wife died and left him with four young kids, and he raised them in the old-fashioned Jamaican way, sure that firm discipline and education were essential to a good upbringing.  […]

FMM 1 27 17 Selah

“Every time I hear the sound, the sound, the sound…” ~Mutabaruka.  I grew up surrounded by music, music of every description.  There were hymns and choir practice of course.  My father was a singer (the Welsh are famous for their Male Voice Choirs), and long road trips were often accompanied by family sing-a-longs.  Included in […]

FMM 1 20 17 Sense of Adventure

“The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?”~Dorothy Day.  I once got lost in the fog.  England used to be famous for its fog – ‘pea-soupers’ they used to call them.  Fog so thick you could […]

FMM 01 06 17 Silence is Golden

“I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.” ~ Khalil Gibran. My Auntie Elsie remained unmarried until she died. She was the eldest of six children, and we don’t know if it was because she stayed home to take […]

FMM 12 30 16 I am no Martha

“For when the One Great Scorer comes To mark against your name, He writes – not that you won or lost – But how you played the Game.”~Grantland Rice. I grew up the youngest of five children, until we adopted an older sister, so then we were six.  And there were always miscellaneous others in […]

FMM 23 16 Meditation on the Moon

“There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.”~George Carlin.  I have no definitive memory of when I saw my first full moon.  Spending my first seven years mostly in a city was one factor.  Even when we went on vacation to the less light polluted seaside, I have no recollection of […]

FMM 12 16 16 From Fairy Princess to Feminist

“A woman is like a tea bag, you can’t tell how strong she is till you put her in hot water.”~Eleanor Roosevelt.  As a child, I hated the color pink.  I don’t know how early this started, but I detested it.  There was a saying: ‘Pink to make the boys wink’.  I detested that too, […]

FMM 12 9 16 Reflections

“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing, but of reflection.”~Winston Churchill.  December has always been my favorite month of the year.  Not only because of Christmas, but because it is my birth month.  So of course I am prejudiced.  Even though I have lived in warm zones for most of my life, I always […]

FMM 12 2 16 Moving out, Moving in, Moving On.

“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”~Margaret Mead.  Many years ago, when I was a child in England, I somehow got drawn into a small playground game.  This older girl was pulling the caps off the younger boys’ heads and throwing them up in the air.  I have no idea how […]