In the midst of Covid, which in the privacy of my own mind I am certainly having a hissy fit about, on paper I am having not only a hissy fit, but also a conniption, about clutter. Specifically, the clutter in my garage, my home office, my work office, my closet,
my mail…ok, let’s just agree to say my life.

Clutter and I do not get along, though it follows me everywhere I go. We don’t get along because I am a Virgo, and Virgos demand order. In fact, according to parade.com, “Virgo energy focuses on control, purification and organization. Imagine a bookshelf that needs sorting, and you’ll find a virgo categorizing by color, book title and author, usually just for fun.

"Never hope for it more than you work for it." - Sonya Teclai

A few years ago in a Publisher’s Note, I wrote about backsliding on my weight loss. What does this have to do with women’s rights? Well, even though I had put a few pounds back on, to get back on track, I kept saying my mantra out loud every day—Never Go Back! Never Go Back! Never Go Back! What I have learned in researching and putting this #Empowered100Years issue together is that we too, as women, need to develop the same mantra—Never Go Back! Never Go Back! Never Go Back!

For the most part, I gave up judging people about the same time I gave up perfectionism. When I finally got old enough—actually wise enough—to realize I’m not perfect, nor do I need to be, I also relinquished that expectation of others. With the freedom of being released from the shackles of trying to do right, be right, look right and act right all the time, I learned judging others, just like judging yourself, is usually premature and always unloving. In addition, it is binding to the persons on both sides of the bench.

Every morning, in your first view of the day, you have the choice to say, ‘Good morning, God’ or ‘Good God, morning.
— Wayne Dyer – 

Right about now, I think most of us are in “Good God, morning” mode and with good reason. Life is heavy. Damn heavy. It feels like everything has changed, even the mundane, everyday chores have a different protocol. So in a world where mental comfort has become more difficult to find, what can we do to still put a smile on our faces and contentment in our hearts?

The answer is lighten up! We all need to, including our children. They pick up on our cues of uneasiness, sadness, despair and anxiety. So do our pets. The only side effect to lightening up is feeling lighter. You may also notice a pep in your step. Come on! It’s summertime—you deserve a moment to be happy and carefree, but you’re going to have to work for it. You have to decide you have had enough heaviness and purposely move toward the lighter side of life. 

For the most part, I gave up judging people about the same time I gave up perfectionism. When I finally got old enough—actually wise enough—to realize I’m not perfect, nor do I need to be, I also relinquished that expectation of others. With the freedom of being released from the shackles of trying to do right, be right, look right and act right all the time, I learned judging others, just like judging yourself, is usually premature and always unloving. In addition, it is binding to the persons on both sides of the bench.