The Resolute Woman

Category: Uncategorized

  • It’s okay to do nothing

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , ,

    I am cleaning the drawers in my desk. The task makes me feel productive—which makes me feel better. I have to remind myself that it’s also okay to do nothing. My husband, Jerry, read an article in The New York Times by a psychologist or psychiatrist who emphasized that message: All of us are feeling…

  • Blessings like blossoms

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , ,

    I am trying to remember the message that resonates with spring and Easter. Hope. Let there be hope—and blessings like blossoms in springtime. –Joy

  • Happy Birthday, Jane Goodall

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , ,

    Yesterday—April 3, 2020—was Jane Goodall’s 86th birthday. Happy Birthday to an amazing woman! Goodall still works tirelessly to protect chimpanzees and other animals—and our environment. This is one of my favorite Jane Goodall quotes. “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.”

  • Remembering Tomie de Paola

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , , ,

    My son Jay, who just got married, is 30, but I will always remember the day a long time ago when we met Tomie de Paola at a Dallas bookstore. Jay was impressed because he liked de Paola’s book The Art Lesson, which tells how the author received a box of 64 crayons for his…

  • Be kind

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , ,

    My husband Jerry reminds me that we are not quarantined. We just are practicing social distancing. We are not going anywhere or having contact with anyone until there is no danger from the coronavirus.. It’s the two of us and our dog Jack together in our house—for who knows how long. One day a week…

  • Waking dreamers

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , ,

    Edward Wilson, the biologist, explained why we sometimes feel stressed. “Humanity today,” Wilson said, “is like a waking dreamer, caught between the fantasies of sleep and the chaos of the real world. The mind seeks but cannot find the precise place and hour. We have created a Star Wars civilization, with Stone Age emotions, medieval…

  • Survival of the friendliest

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , ,

    Friends are good for your health, says Lydia Denworth, author of Friendship: The Evolution, Biology and Exraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond. Having friends can improve the health of your cardiovascular system, your immune system and your brain. “People think all the time about competition and survival of the fittest, but really it’s survival of…

  • The shelter of a friend

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , , ,

    I talked to three friends on the phone last night–Lynn, my best friend in high school. Barbara, another friend since high school. And, Marjorie, who worked with me more than 30 years ago, before my daughter was born. After our conversations, I felt better! I was reminded of a quote from Emily Dickinson, “I felt…

  • Let our love be loud

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , ,

    “Let our prayers be silent,” says Chett Pritchett. “Let our work be visible. Let our love be loud.” My friend Kerry Smith, a Methodist minister, quoted Pritchett in her church’s weekly online newsletter. –Joy

  • Female-female alliances

    —

    by

    resolutewoman
    in , , ,

    When Ashley Judd studied at Harvard, her favorite course was Gender Violence, Law and Social Justice, taught by Diane Rosenfield. The class learned about bonobo apes, “who over the course of evolution have eliminated male sexual coercion in their communities. If a male does get aggressive toward a female bonobo, she lets out a special…