Come Together To Remember

The Exchange Club of Greater Newburyport is sponsoring a "Field of Honor" to commemorate the military and first responders who have died keeping us safe. The "Field of Honor" will be row upon row of flags, each a tribute by a relative, friend or group in remembrance of a fallen hero.

The dedication of this "Field of Honor" is Saturday, September 11'th at the Bartlet Mall in Newburyport, MA . Help volunteer by getting involved with one of our committees to make this a time to come together and remember.

To learn more about how you can participate as a sponsor or purchase a flag in memory of someone, please see our website

http://colonialflagfoundation.org/staticpages/index.php/newburyport

Or contact me at fieldofhonor@gmail.com

Memorial Day

I was certain that this weekend would be perfect ... weather, alone time, and gardening. While digging up one of the garden beds, I thought how I was now digging dirt that was my mother's.

Let me explain. I live back at my childhood home and I can recall my mother's tenacious tending of this section of the garden. Her section was relegated to roses,asters and dahlias. The other gardens were the vegetable ones and tended by her father.

It was all nicely divvied up and she worked the soil, lavished hours upon her roses and deadheaded the flowering asters and dahlias (the ones not selected for the indoor arrangement). This activity was repeated year after year starting with the Memorial Day weekend.

There's a certain sense of completion to my contribution this weekend.

Fear - Motivator or Inhibitor

Fear is a funny kind of emotion. It can cause us to behave in ways that are most unflattering. It can also cause us to change our lives, careers and goals in a good way. Some folks will immediately change a lifestyle that has caused a heart attack, yet others won't feel the need.

What is fear about? In the ancient days, when we were cave dwellers, the sense of fear truly was valuable especially where survival was concerned. As of late, I haven't been motivated to check out the backyard for things stalking me as a food source, so where does the constructive fear enter my life?

Am I afraid of changing the status quo because it will mean something will change? Change happens anyway, even if I try to avoid it. Am I afraid of becoming successful or more so? What will happen then? Lose friends, family, a way of being? If I am unsuccessful, will I lose friends, family, a way of being?

Am I operating with my own fear or do I borrow it from other sources like TV news, government press releases, talk radio, my family, friends, or business associates?

As a way of being, fear isn't healthy. It saps your will, strength and peace. So why give it so much power? Because we prefer to think the worst instead of the best. We are on the verge of death, destruction and mayhem or so we think ourselves into believing. Or we could enjoy that we are on our path, experiencing life, and manifesting our dreams. Or not.