“ As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” ~ Nelson Mandela.   Along with the sadness at the loss of a great man (although even the word great seems too small for this particular leader) comes the opportunity to reflect on his examples.  Nelson Mandela inspired, led, […]

“We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.” ~ Ray Bradbury This image, dubbed “Celestial Fireworks,” was taken by the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 from the Hubble Space Telescope.  (Courtesy of NASA). Waking up on a cool South Florida morning is a blessing.  In fact, waking up any morning is a blessing.  Yesterday the US […]

“And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee….”  ~ John Donne   Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of John F. Kennedy.  To be honest, I don’t remember his death, even though I was old enough at the time.  For me and my family, that was around […]

“Every person that you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.”  ~ H. Jackson Brown Jr. Last weekend I went on a road trip.  The journey was relatively short yet in less than two hours I was transported to another world.  Along with a group of nursing students, I was participating in a health fair […]

“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.”  ~ John Lubbock. Have you ever wondered what makes some people able to be happy all the time, despite having to deal with significant challenges?  I have often been in awe of those who are able to see the bright side, no matter what life throws […]

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”~ Mother Teresa. When you think about our ability to communicate, human beings are amazing.  We have evolved from grunting, finger pointing cavemen, to creators of iconic imagery and lyrical language.  The human brain processes thoughts faster and more creatively than […]

‘Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty – a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture.’  ~ Bertrand Russell.   I was seven years old when I went to live in Jamaica.  The first school I attended was a small private school, run by a retired couple.  Teacher G taught the […]

‘Never fall in love with your disease’~Luis Gaviero  I used to joke that education is expensive, thinking of the high price we have to pay for some lessons rather than the cost of schooling.  Whether it is a relationship that turns sour, or an adventure that puts us behind bars, it may be hard at […]

“Happiness is the settling of the soul into its most appropriate spot.”  ~ Aristotle. When I was a teenager I had large thoughts and grand questions.  Was it reasonable to think that our earth was the only habitable planet in the universe?  Could there be another world, another population, possibly another me out there somewhere?  Was […]

‘Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself.’ ~ Jean-Paul Sartre.   Have you ever stopped to think about how amazing the human body is?  We are composed of trillions of cells, each with their own job to do.  Born as common stem cells, they grow up and differentiate into specialists, performing […]