Reblogged from The World of Special Olympics:
The following is a guest post in the form of an open letter from Special Olympics athlete and global messenger John Franklin Stephens to Ann Coulter after this tweet during last night's Presidential debate.
Dear Ann Coulter,
Come on Ms. Coulter, you aren’t dumb and you aren’t shallow. So why are you continually using a word like the R-word as an insult?
Of the bazillion things I don’t know, I do know ten things that I think about more than several times a day that I don’t know about people.
I wish I knew all the ways that cause people to feel afraid. Fear, I think, initiates all other harmful emotions in people. Harmful emotions become translated into hurtful actions. If I knew all the ways people feel fear, maybe I could set their fears to rest, which might help people to stop doing hurtful things.
Yesterday I posted a meme on my Facebook profile that led to a mini-conversation with a friend of mine—a person I care for and respect immensely even though we have drastically different political opinions. The conversation was around whether someone has to agree or be labeled or stay silent. I think this is an important dialogue because I believe that people on both sides of the political coin feel like “the other side” feels this way. I also think that this feeling is largely to blame for many of the challenges we face in today’s society.
This is a time of major change in my life. I am changing jobs—going from one full-time job in the social service field to a couple of part-time jobs in education. I have left the board of an organization that I co-founded with a few friends. My youngest living child has started high school. My oldest is starting college. Transitions like these are similar to walking a tightrope over a chasm with spikes at the bottom.
Reblogged from Memory Bears by Bonnie:
Life without quality isn’t much of a life at all. Quantity of days without quality is like a desert without water. Breathing in and out is to exist; taking pleasure in each day is to live. The choice of quantity without quality is a dismal existence.
One of the goals in hospice is for the patient to enjoy as much quality of life as possible.
Reblogged from Memory Bears by Bonnie:
It is common knowledge that most people do not want to talk about death and dying. Everyone knows they will die someday, but maybe think if they don’t talk about it, then it won’t happen. To them, denial is better than talking about death.
This may surprise some of you, but the health care field is the same way. Most work in areas where saving lives is the goal.
I like to think that every writer has a period of time when they believe that every word they’ve ever put down on the page is the wrong word, that everything they’ve ever written or will write is actually crap, and that anyone who has told them it’s worthwhile is just being kind to their feelings. I have to think that every writer goes through this because it somehow normalizes my own experience. It makes it okay that I don’t like what I’ve written and okay that I keep writing anyway.
Over the weekend, I did some light traveling to visit family. While it used to be pretty common for me to make an 8 or even a 12 hour drive, my body now can’t handle much more than a few hours. As a result, we’ve taken to staying at hotels for anything more than a quick trip to Portland or the coast. This trip was a good reminder of why disability awareness is still a huge need in the U.S.
We’d prepaid and after the clerk looked up our reservation, she says, “Would you like a room on the first floor since you have the cane?”
Reblogged from Significance & Inspiration:
Usually, he lies on a blanket in front of the television. His hair is short, surrounding his face in chestnut tufts. Almond-shaped eyes of a deep brown hue glance to and fro, often moving before he can muster the strength to turn his head. When the grey and white drapes in the living room are open, and the sun casts its rays down upon his face, those eyes sparkle and gleam, as though nothing in the world is horrible or sad.
December Guest Blogger Submission Open
December’s theme is: The Impossible Holiday; Deadline: December 7, 2012
As you know, I tried a Guest Blogger feature back in October. I had only one submission for a three-month term and I needed to think about how to make this feature work both for my readers and for myself. So here’s what I came up with: I’ll announce a theme and accept submissions from potential guest bloggers through the first seven days of each month. I will post the top five submissions at varying times through the month. Selected contributors will be able to have a brief bio and a link on a static page on S & I. You need not be a professional writer to participate! My goal is to highlight different perspectives and to provide a small forum for creative thought. Interested? Read the guidelines:
(more…)
- Commentary
- Random Thoughts
- reading
- writing
on November 25, 2012 at 12:16 pm Leave a CommentTags: creativity, guest blogger, guest post, submissions, theme