I read this today while having my morning coffee;  it was posted by a FB friend, Rick Wellman of Patrick Melville Salon in NYC.  He said, “With all the serious issues and tragedies in the news, sometimes I feel a little superficial posting hair stuff. Then, I close my eyes and imagine a world without beauty and hair color.”

We have art in order not to die of the truth.  Friedrich Nietzsche

His comment, so vulnerable, really touched me, because I too have wondered if my lifelong obsession with how things looked, and with fashion and home magazines was shallow.  Rick’s clients and friends responded by telling him how much they love his beautiful “before and after” photographs, and that his art is a welcomed relief and escape from all of the sadness in the news.

We all bring different gifts to the table, and I realize that for me, the world is about beauty, art, words…and making order out of disorder where, and how, I can.  I know terrible things are happening all over the world, but does it help the world for me to suffer too?  Why add to the suffering?  Be conscious of other’s circumstances, and be grateful that their reality is not your reality!

Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life.  I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself.  Walter Anderson

The most effective way to help the world is to work within your “sphere of influence.”  We all have a circle of friends and acquaintances, and business and social networks. Start there. While I am aware that I can’t feed all of the people who are starving on the other side of the world, I can donate to Meals on Wheels so that a person right here in my city will be fed. I can’t help all of the people in the refugee camps, but I can contribute to Habitat for Humanity locally so a person here can have a better home.  I can buy locally to help our farmers. And I can tell my family, friends and clients how much I love and value them.

All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.  Helen Keller

I believe that by staying positive and constructive, we can add light and hope to the world. We can hold the image of a brighter and better future for everyone, and we can do our part to ease the burden through our love!

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life; and that word is love.   Sophocles

XO Donna