Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
Before you leave a comment, STOP, consider this: Our comments are part of our digital footprint on the internet. They tell the world how we think and respond to information. I know YOU took time out of your busy schedule and landed here. I’m rooting for you to say something inspiring that will help others who read my posts. THANK YOU! ❤
Hello world!
“When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.” Viktor E. Frankl
Hello world: Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Respite Reminder: I’m Taking My Advice. Will check occasionally. Back soon!
Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
This is a Lifestyle/Motivational blog offering an eclectic mix of mirthful and motivational pieces: Life Tips / Advice, Affirmations/Wellness, Women’s Lives, Food, Travel, Interviews, Inspirational posts, Reviews, Peace, AND Social Media ruminations on people, places, and events that shape our lives. That said, I invite you to stay awhile, read some posts, and share your thoughts with this growing online blog community.
I started this blog 15+ years ago, as a way to help agents/staff at the company I worked for stay motivated. This was my first blog post on this site, hence the dodgy title. After the market crashed and we were downsized, I decided to keep it going. Therefore, the main goal was, and remains, to encourage myself and others to keep moving forward. It has been a long and rewarding journey.
WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?
Over the years, I have learned a lot about blogging, its many positives, and pitfalls, and how important it is to stay focused on our own Why or raison d’être. We can choose to focus on one of the fundamental rules of blogging which is to make connections with others by adding value through our message/content, comments, and social interactions. We can also choose to turn our attention elsewhere. It is entirely up to us.
Nevertheless, one thing I know for sure is that if your heart is invested in what you blog about, you will stay the course. Remember to stay true to who you are and why you blog. It can’t just be about monetization. Add value. Help others. Stay Encouraged.
Another thing I know for sure is that we all want to be heard, appreciated, and respected; I know that empowering messages are far more appealing than incendiary angling for blog attention. If your blogosphere surfing brings you here, relax, kick back, and share a positive tidbit on your worldview.
HOW DO WE STAY MIRTHFUL AND MOTIVATED?
Read more…
“On this International Day of Education, we are reaffirming a simple yet powerful belief: the belief that young people have a rightful place at the decision-making table – not only as beneficiaries, but also as full-fledged partners.” Khaled El-Enany, UNESCO Director General
International Day of Education: Youth Co-creating Education
January 24 is International Day of Education – This year’s theme is: The power of youth in co-creating education.
What do we know about Education Day?
On December 3, 2018, The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to proclaim 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. When we think of development, we must think of the future and prepare the next generation to assume responsibility for managing our planet. Educating our youth is key to building a sustainable planet that will thrive beyond my generation. Empowering them to take on leadership roles from an early age helps them build the skills and necessary experience to lead with confidence.
Did you know that, according to a UN/UNESCO report, 251 million children and youth are out of school, 122 million are girls, and 763 million adults are illiterate?
The basic right to education that ultimately benefits every nation is being violated globally. Without an inclusive, equitable, quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, we will not break the cycle of poverty affecting millions of youth, children and adults. Youth empowerment is a vital part of the solution.
With this year’s theme, UNESCO and the UN have set in motion a call to action to motivate nations and communities to engage, encourage and empower youth to step up and learn to take charge. It won’t happen overnight, but we must start the process and mentor young people for future leadership roles.
In celebration of this year’s theme, UNESCO offered the following Recommendations for creating meaningful change with youth:
1. Establish formal mechanisms in legislation or regulations that require youth and student participation in decision-making roles.
2. Ensure that processes inviting participation are meaningful and aligned with principles that guarantee accessible, inclusive, safe, transparent and representative participation.
3. Engage youth and student organizations not only in policy design but also in implementation.
4. Support youth engagement with sufficient curriculum time and resources to develop civic skills and organizational capacity that enable young people to become active, engaged and decision-making citizens.
Are you a parent of young students? How is this playing our in their lives?
Continued Below Read more…
“This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood…” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Wall Quotes
Motivation Mondays: MLK Day – 14 Quotes to Remember
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was a visionary and a powerful orator. 50+ years after he was assassinated, his speeches and quotes remain a powerful reminder of his legacy. His words resonated deeply in our hearts, and his call to action moved many to cross the racial divide and march for an end to segregation; civil rights activists, freedom walkers, families, and people of all races joined the cause, and gradually, things shifted in the US. But have we fully overcome? It depends on who you speak to and their vantage point.
After Dr. King’s death, his fraternity brothers at Alpha Phi Alpha proposed building a Memorial monument in his honor. The idea gathered momentum in 1986, with the support of the King family, and finally opened on August 22, 2011.
Located in West Potomac Park next to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the structure covers four acres and includes the Stone of Hope, a white granite statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. carved by sculptor Lei Yixin. The vision/purpose of the King Memorial is aptly described below by Harry E. Johnson, President/CEO of the Memorial Foundation.
Fourteen of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s top quotes are etched on the National Park Service Memorial Inscription Wall, and I’ve added all 14 quotes to this post. I split them into two groups of seven quotes. In addition to the fourteen quotations on the Inscription Wall, a side of the Stone of Hope includes part of a quote attributed to Dr King. It is taken from the “I Have a Dream” speech: “Out of the Mountain of Despair, a Stone of Hope.” A second quote was removed after much outcry about its abbreviated version. Do you have a favorite Dr. MLK quote from the list of 14? Do you have one you’d like to share?
“The King Memorial is envisioned as a quiet and peaceful space. Yet drawing from Dr. King’s speeches and using his own rich language, the King Memorial will almost certainly change the heart of every person who visits. Against the backdrop of the Lincoln Memorial, with stunning views of the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial, the Memorial will be a public sanctuary where future generations of Americans, regardless of race, religion, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation, can come to honor Dr. King” Harry E. Johnson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Memorial Foundation
The fourteen quotes, split into two sections, are:(Wikipedia)
❤️“We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” (31 March 1968, National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.)
❤️“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” (1963, Strength to Love)
❤️“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” (10 December 1964, Oslo, Norway)
❤️“Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.” (18 April 1959, Washington, D.C.)
❤️“I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against it not in anger but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and above all with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as a moral example of the world.” (25 February 1967, Los Angeles, California)
❤️“If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.” (24 December 1967, Atlanta, Georgia)
❤️“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” (16 April 1963, Birmingham, AL)
Continued Below Read more…
“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.” Dr. Maya Angelou
Motivation Mondays: Reflections On A Happy New Year!
Motivation Mondays: Reflections On A Happy New Year!
Prayer: May 2026 be rich with promise, fulfilled dreams, and God’s abundant blessings and grace. May this year bring you clarity, fresh motivation, and new opportunities. Wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy, and productive year!
NEW YEAR
NEW YEAR: A Happy New Year to You and Your Loved Ones! – Time truly flies by when we are busy living through the ups and downs of life. It seems like only yesterday when I posted a happy New Year message. Can you believe that was in 2022? Four years ago! I didn’t abandon my beloved blog. I went on an extended hiatus that led me in other directions, including some travel, attempts to create new work, more marathon running, and connecting with a new circle of people/friends in my ever-growing local community. I will share more on that in a future post.
From time to time, I would check in, tweak a few old posts, read some comments, and have the Happiness Engineers fix any issues. I thought about the old days when I banged out weekly posts and how much effort went into what so many people do online. I paused, weighed the commitment, and parked my thoughts until today. To start this new year, I have decided to share 5 quotes, 5 prayers, 5 poems, and some words of wisdom (4 Life Principles/12 Life Tips) from my Beloved Amma, Mata Amritanandamayi.
Poem: To the New Year – By W. S. Merwin
With what stillness at last
you appear in the valley
your first sunlight reaching down
to touch the tips of a few
high leaves that do not stir
as though they had not noticed
and did not know you at all
then the voice of a dove calls
from far away in itself
to the hush of the morningso this is the sound of you
here and now, whether or not
anyone hears it, this is
where we have come with our age
our knowledge, such as it is
and our hopes, such as they are
invisible before us
untouched and still possible via PoetryFoundation
“May the new year be one in which peace and happiness dance across the world. May we be able to realise a meaningful 2026—one that brings us closer to our goal. May divine grace bless all my children to achieve this.” Amma
Motivation Mondays: Reflections On A Happy New Year!
Motivation Mondays: Reflections On A Happy New Year!
Prayer: May 2026 be a year of great hope, growth, peace, fresh starts, fruitfulness, and purpose, bearing much fruit in all areas of our lives.
PEACE & PRAYERS
PEACE & PRAYERS: In Amma’s New Year Satsang from Amritapuri, India, she shared 4 Important Life Principles and 12 Tips to Live by in 2026 and beyond. Given the current state of affairs globally, we need to be acutely aware of the role each of us plays in contributing to peace or chaos. It all begins at home, in our hearts and in our heads. Amma’s four principles are everyday, commonsense ones, because we need simple reminders on how to share this world/planet. Her twelve tips offer great food for thought, and all are doable, actionable, and reasonable. Read them. Digest them. Share your own tips in the comments, as I’d love to hear your feedback.
4 Key Principles: Awareness. Compassion. Effort. Surrender to God.
12 Life Tips: 1. Since time cannot be saved to use in the future, use it with utmost care. Create a daily routine/schedule and follow it sincerely.
2. Write down your negative tendencies and shortcomings on a piece of paper. Set aside one specific day a week to consciously work on controlling each one of them.
3. Compared to yesterday, try to bring a little more maturity and excellence into at least one aspect of your life today.
4. Every day, spend some time cultivating awareness of nature. Imagine that you are loving the entire creation.
5. Awaken the selfless love within you and allow it to express itself daily. Take care of at least one plant.
6. When praise or insults, victory or defeat come your way, reflect deeply and remind yourself: “In truth, I am beyond all this.”
7. Cultivate the virtue of forgiveness – make an effort to forgive and forget the mistakes of others and try to correct them with understanding. Just as when a child makes a mistake, adults know that it is due to ignorance and guide the child gently. Forgetting may not always be possible, but correction should be attempted. Sometimes, people say, ” He is too foolish, ignorant, and immature. I let him go, Amma.” Falling into others’ foolishness reflects our own lack of maturity. These tendencies exist in everyone – at times even in us. Look within and ask whether these traits do not arise in you as well.
8. Every day, spend at least a little time performing your actions with complete awareness.
9. Use natural resources carefully and responsibly. In life, place greater importance on what you have given rather than what you have received.
10. Practice humility and simplicity. Respect the views of others and move forward through cooperation. There will be times when cooperation is impossible; when dealing with such people, remain patient. If you see that continuing will only weaken you, there is no harm in stepping aside and creating a gap in your interactions with them. You may ask, “Why should we endure everything?” First, stand aside and look into yourself. Then perhaps acceptance of others may be possible.
11. Each day, spend a little time remembering the form of the Guru/of God. Then sit quietly and observe your own nature.
12. Cultivate gratitude for the good you have received in your life. Take responsibility for your own mistakes, hardships, and losses. What we need is not a mind that is content with a narrow outlook but a broad mind that moves forward steadily without faltering. Work on them.
Poem: Burning the Old Year – By Naomi Shihab Nye
Letters swallow themselves in seconds.
Notes friends tied to the doorknob,
transparent scarlet paper,
sizzle like moth wings,
marry the air.So much of any year is flammable,
lists of vegetables, partial poems.
Orange swirling flame of days,
so little is a stone.Where there was something and suddenly isn’t,
an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space.
I begin again with the smallest numbers.Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,
only the things I didn’t do
crackle after the blazing dies. Via PoetryFoundation
Continued Below Read more…
