I had a bad dream..

Life is a scary but beautiful thing. Sometimes a nightmare can scare the sense back into me. Think for a minute. Realize how blessed and fortunate I am. Life and the fast paced nature of it all can make me high strung and too focused on unimportant things like work and stupid details. Sometimes it's hard to reflect on how great it is. Then  a nightmare forces me to remember. I shouldn't wait for a nightmare. I should take time each day to be grateful.

I am the luckiest lady alive. I have tremendous support, a great love of my life,  a phenomenal family, extended family, great and beautiful friends,  two adorable cats and a rewarding job to name a few. 

I have no enemies. While I am strong willed, opinionated and passionate, I have a heart that is capable of forgiveness. I work extremely hard to not hold onto anger and resentment. Learning how to forgive myself and others is the most gratifying feeling I have known in my short and beautiful life.  I have empathy and that starts with being mindful of the positive things. Faith is powerful. Love is supreme. Realizing how short and beautiful life is should be a daily practice. 

Life is fragile. Sickness, accidents, unresolved feelings and tragedies can take everything we take for granted away in an instant. Nightmares are blessings because, although disturbing, they shake us up enough to appreciate what we've got. 

Good night, sleep well.

No place for racism here, there or anywhere

You don't have to be a minority to be offended by racist comments. I am a white girl from a small New England town.  My high school was a class of 70 something and consisted of maybe 2-3 people who were not white. I have parents who came of age during the civil rights movement.  They have a deep awareness, first hand of what people of color had to face in this country at that time. My mom (obviously also white) marched with Dr. Martin Luther King. 
I am educated. I went to school in Boston for communications and written and oral expression and interpersonal communication are paramount in my life. My formal degree didn't make me anti-racist though. Before all that, I was raised to have empathy. I was taught to try to put myself in others' shoes. 
Am I judgmental? Of course. Do I say hurtful things sometimes without knowing all of the facts? Absolutely. I try to weigh it out though. Put some thought into  the assumption I have made and question it. I don't tolerate blanket  racist comments. Even though I am as white and corny as the town I grew up in, my blood boils when I hear or see ignorant statements from stupid people who haven't even stepped out of their own big fish, small pond scenarios. Facebook is a public place. It is not a place for hateful jokes that can be misconstrued. 
I have to emphasize the message that even if the 800+ friends you have are all white,  you never know who you are going to hurt by what you say when generalizing about an entire group.

Get a job, get a degree, go learn something. Connect with some people who are different than your messed up and fragile self. Maybe you don't mean to appear ignorant. Maybe you are trying to be cool with some of your friends. Let me say that there is nothing cool about being ignorant. I suggest some new friends. Be aware of what you are saying because your words are hurting people, beginning with me via the news feed. Stop it.