Air Orchestra

Ears Open! Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou's Master Class on OWN is an absolute must-see.   If it were possible to purchase this (I wish! I wish!), I wouldn't post this link. But I don't think people should be denied the wisdom here.  I don't know who long it will stay up, but enjoy while it lasts.

Master Class: Maya Angelou

And if the link is taken down, please write to Oprah or OWN here and ask for shows to made available for purchase. 

Salute to Moms

Ears Open!

22 Things Happy People Do Differently

I love this blog post.  #9 is the one I have been working on for sometime now.  It's hard, but so important.

9. Get absorbed into the present.
Happy people don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future. They savor the present. They let themselves get immersed in whatever they’re doing at the moment. Stop and smell the roses.

Here is the entire list from Successify.

Enjoy!

If You Really Knew Me

Noah's story got me thinking about bullying today.  Bullying is an issue that really strikes a chord in me. And one thing that bothers me is that I really think the word "bully" does a disservice to the issue because it fails to really capture the truth.  In my opinion, bullying is actually abuse, plain and simple- verbal, emotional and physical abuse, and as a society I believe we should treat it as such.

MTV once did a series called If You Really Knew Me that followed high school students through a Challenge Day workshop meant to address how poorly they were treating one another.  I have seen a couple of episodes and one of the first ones, Paris High School, has stayed in my mind ever since.  To see these young people being so mean to one another, full of defense mechanisms and masked fear, come together on this day and realize (finally!) that they are not so different and that they need each other.....it brings me to tears every single time.

If you haven't seen it, here is a link.  I love all the love they give each other at the end.  Whether or not it stays that way, well...who really knows.  But at least for a moment, they are there for each other and it's beautiful.

If You Really Knew Me - Paris High School 

Strangers Give Hope To Boy Thinking Of Suicide

Noah Brocklebank, a 7th grader from Maryland, was being bullied and feeling alone.  He had been thinking about committing suicide on his 13th birthday and posted a picture of his arm, which he had been cutting, on Instagram.  Noah was hospitalized and his mother, feeling helpless, started a Facebook page asking for people to send Noah words of encouragement.  You can see in the picture above what happened next.

Read the family's story here:  Strangers Help Bullied Boy

Hang in there, Noah.  It definitely gets better.

New Generation

This album isn't new, but every time this song pops onto my shuffle playlist, I can barely contain myself no matter where I am.  I love the message of love and peace and celebration.  Listen to the track above.  Here are the lyrics (credit to Songonlyrics):

Robin Thicke – The New Generation Lyrics 
We’re the new generation
The new generation
And we believe now
We believe (we believe)
(we believe)
It’s a televised revolution
We want democracy
We fight all oppression
We tired of murder and grief
We want our freedom
Like the Statue of Liberty
We want to see our children
Live better than you and me
The whole city is a dance floor
(huh) It’s a celebration
For the whole world to see
Things are really changing
From Africa to Asia
Through Europe cross the seas
Everybody’s got they hand up
And nobody’s on their knees

And the bombs will stop flying
And we gaze a quiet sky
And we stand in love and wonder
At the miracle gone by
And it ain’t like it used to be
Cause it’s better than it was
We’re the new generation
We believe in us (we believe)
We believe in us (we believe)
We’re the new new [x3] We believe in us [x3]
The new generation

Now we’re sharing our money
Now we helping tough lives
Now we calling up our brothers
Saying I apologize
Love is stronger than eternity
Love’s in every baby’s eyes
We crawling outta that dirty gutta
With tuxedos on your mind
You want a glass of champagne
You want it paid for by the pain
Shout your national anthem
For all your countrymen that died in vain
You’re the new prince ruler
The red dog Cairo king
An international inspiration
The number one topic most trending

And now the bombs will stop flying
And we gaze a quiet sky
And we stand in love and wonder
At the miracle gone by
And it ain’t like it used to be
Cause it’s better than it was
We’re the new generation
We believe in us (we believe)
We believe in us (we believe)
We’re the new new [x3] We believe in us [x3]
The new generation

Now you can’t get between us
We’re connected like mother and child
It’s a world wide network
You better logon before you die
Cause the old got us over
And the new way is baptized
And now we’re storming through the palace
Singing, dancing, you know why
Waving peace flags on the balcony
Yeah we just changed history
And we all joined hands
And thank god for listening

And the bombs will stop flying
And we gaze a quiet sky
And we stand in love and wonder
At the miracle gone by
And it ain’t like it used to be
Cause it’s better than it was
We’re the new generation
We believe in us (we believe)
We believe in us (we believe)
We believe in us (we believe)
We believe in us (we believe)
We believe in us (we believe)
We’re the new new [x3] We believe in us [x3]
The new generation

Dance!

I can always appreciate a person's ability to throw caution to the wind and just live life every now and then.  This gentleman is my hero today.  And he's a fabulous dancer!

Instagram Helps Boy Find His Lost Stuffed Bunny

 

I love this story.  First, I'm a sucker for sentimental objects and how much they mean to us, especially children.   And second, the story is so full of chance and luck and goodness, I can't imagine someone reading it and not smiling....just a little bit.  :)


Instagram Rescue: Bunny Lost 'n' Found 

Finding love...literally

The title really says it all, We Found Our Son on the Subway.   That is unbelievably what actually happened, they found a son that they weren't looking for.  Just when I think I don't believe in fate, something like this comes along.