I hope you are using Jungle Red, because that is the only color I love.

I just got home after a long day at work followed by a rehearsal. After I prepared dinner and cleaned up the kitchen I finally sat down and turned on the television. One of my favorite movies was on. Mrs. Doubtfire. In my opinion it is Robin Williams’s most exceptional role. While Sally Fields does an excellent job portraying the victim, Robin plays the role to whom more viewers can relate. Early in the film Daniel’s childish ways catch up with him, and he becomes the divorced father with limited visitation rights.

I said this is one of my favorite movies, and it really is. But tonight I’m just not in the mood to watch it. It tends to pull at my heart. Sure, it is hysterical. It is very quotable. The montage of Daniel turning into Mrs. Doubtfire is classic. Director Chris Columbus was able to take the heartache of a divided family and make it easy to watch…for the most part. What makes it real, at least for me, are the reactions of the children. They are honest and genuine. They are angry, confused, and torn between two parents that they love.

I said I wasn’t in the mood to watch it right now…yet I can’t seem to turn it off. So I’ll end with a quote by Daniel…

“Ever wish you could freeze frame a moment in your day, and look at it and say "this is not my life"?”

...and also with you.

I remember a former Gatorade tagline that asked, “Is it in you?” I suspect the “it” either referred to a high level of athleticism or perhaps their product, but today I’d like to ask that question about peace. Is peace in you?

I’m no guru, but I think it is. I think we all have peace within us, it’s just that most us don’t spend much time experiencing that space. The peace within you may be strangled with overgrown and largely unimportant drama, anxiety of things beyond your control or the hectic lives we tend to create for ourselves.

But it’s always there, like a perpetual flame, waiting to be discovered. Or rediscovered.

In fact, I bet you can access the space of peace within you right now. Slide your chair back from your desk. Close your eyes. Fold your hands comfortably in your lap. And take three very deep breaths, wearing a slight smile on your face. That’s the place of peace – and you just made the choice to experience it.

When each of us consciously accesses this space of peace within, a curious thing happens: We can make a gift of our peace to the many lives we touch each day. We can interact with the world in a way that lifts it up.

Is it in you?

Wordless Wednesday: A l m o s t

Ah Autumn....the smell of censorship is in the air.

I can't believe it! I forgot to mention Banned Books Week! The last week of September the American Library Association publishes the list of books that have received the most requests to be removed from shelves in schools, public libraries, and retail stores. Of course, it never happens.

The ALA celebrates Banned Books Week in order to bring attention to the books. Take a look at the list. Have you read any of them? I sure have. :) I have already read the red ones, and the blues ones are on my list for this year.

Alexie, Sherman. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian."
Anderson, Laurie Halse. "Twisted."
Angelou, Maya. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
Block, Francesca Lia. "Baby Be-Bop."
Boyle, T. Coraghessan. "The Tortilla Curtain."
Brown, Marc Tolon. "Buster's Sugartime."
Burroughs, Augusten. "Running with Scissors."
Cast, P.C. and Kristin Cast. "House of Night." (Series)
Chbosky, Stephen. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."
Comfort, Alex. "Joy of Sex."
Crutcher, Chris. "Deadline."
Drill, Ester. "Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL."
Dubberley, Emily. "Sex for Busy People: The Art of the Quickie for Lovers on the Go."
Ehrenreich, Barbara. "Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America."
Frank, Anne. "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl."
Fuentes, Carlos. "Aura."
Garrison, Eric Marlowe. "Mastering Multiple Position Sex."
Hahn, Mary Downing. "The Dead man in Indian Creek."
Harding, Kat. "Lasbian Kama Sutra."
Hartinger, Brent. "Geography Club."
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants: A Short Story: The Complete Short Stories of Hemingway."
Hitler, Adolf. "Mein Kampf."
Irving, John. "A Prayer for Owen Meany."
Johnson, Maureen. "The Bermudez Triangle."
King, Stephen. "Survivor Type. A Short Story from Skeleton Crew."
Kingsolver, Barbara. "The Bean Trees."
Klausen, Jytte. "The Cartoons That Shook the World."
Knowles, Jo. "Lessons from a Dead Girl."
Lee, Harper. "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Lippman, Laura. "The Crack Cocaine Diet: A Short Story from Hardly Knew Her."
Martin, Michael. "Kurt Cobain."
McDonald, Brian. "In the Middle of the Night."
Mead, Richelle. "Vampire Academy." (Series)
Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff. "Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary."
Meyer, Stephenie H. "Twilight." (Series)
Moore, Alan. "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier."
Morrison, Toni. "Song of Solomon."
Myracle, Lauren. "ttyl"
Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell. "And Tango Makes Three."
Schrag, Ariel, ed. "Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age."
Scott, Elizabeth. "Living Dead Girl."
Sedaris, David. "I Like Guys: A Short Story from Naked."
Seierstad, Asne. "The Bookseller of Kabul."
Selzer, Adam. "How to Get Suspended and Influence People."
Shusterman, Neal. "Unwind"
Sliverstein, Charles, and Felice Picano. "The Joy of Gay Sex."
Snyder, Zikpha Keatley. "The Egypt Game."
Sones, Sonya. "One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies."
Toriyama, Akira. "Dragon Ball: the Monkey King."
Von Ziegesar, Cecily. "Only in Your Dreams: A Gossip Girl Novel."
Walker, Margaret. "Jubilee."
Walls, Jeannette. "The Glass Castle: A Memoir."
WritersCorps. "Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems."

On a side noet I am pleased that I have met THREE of the authors listed above: Marc Brown, Toni Morrison, and Barbara Kingsolver.

Feed, Free, and Heal

Tonight I had my eyes opened to a travesty that I knew very little about. For years I have heard that genocide was taking place in Darfur. I knew that. But I am ashamed to say that I had no idea what genocide was, nor did I know where Darfur was located. I always associated Darfur with a failed Clinton administration something-or-other. I have been ignorant.

Tonight I had the opportunity to hear someone speak from the group Christian Solidarity International (CSI). For the first time I saw pictures, heard stories, and listened to firsthand accounts of freeing slaves, uniting families, and helping the people of Sudan.

I want to learn more. I want to help. Basic Human Rights are being denied to an entire nation.

Did you know that $50 is all it takes to free a slave in Sudan? CSI is able to barter with the oppressive slave holders to release ONE person for every $50 worth of bovine vaccine. Cattle are worth more than slaves.

CSI is committed to stand in solidarity with those who are being persecuted for their faith in the Sudan, Iraq, and Pakistan. You can make a difference by enabling CSI to Feed, Free and Heal the Captives. Join me, and help make a difference.