Back in the saddle

Perhaps you've heard the adage "Get back in the saddle".  It's typically used to tell you to keep trying, not to give up because you failed or "fell off the horse".

Life is short, another reminder

I learned yesterday that while the rest of us were celebrating the nation's birthday, a friend of ours was beginning the long journey of grief over losing his father. To compound the loss, it was at the hands of a criminal, who broke into his home and shot him with his own gun. While his wife was upstairs.

I'm confident there will be much speculation, commentary and debate on gun control, security, religion, and being "right with God". What I'd like to point out is that he was "Right with People". I went to his Facebook page and found this heartwarming, heartbreaking and encouraging interaction between he and a friend:

Reinventing Yourself

We usually think of celebrity figures when we hear the term "Reinventing yourself".  A child actor who declares their all-grown-upness with overt sexuality.  A woman perpetually typecast in the victim role steps out in a bad-ass headliner role.   An athlete switching sports or taking on a corporate position with style.

We don't often think that we can reinvent our own selves.  Many of us wander through life, chained to the self-image that was created for us by others.  Perhaps the parent who said you weren't good enough, the teacher who said you'd never amount to anything, a spurned lover who said you would always be alone...