A Simple Smile

May 12

This week a woman reported that she smiled at “a lot of people” one day and it made her feel better as a person.
  A friend of mine, yesterday, Retweeted a quote about a smile and, upon reading it, I smiled. It was a Martha Stewart quote, and I’m not sure if the sentiment made me smile, or if it was a thought of the person who Tweeted me, but either way, I smiled.
  It felt good.
  I’m not sure I smile enough.
I’m not sure, at times, that I . . . or we, as a society, have enough to smile about these days. Or maybe we don’t smile enough, so there is less to smile about.
  We’ve all heard the credo that it takes less muscles to smile than it does to frown. Or the phrase ‘turn that frown upside down’.
  I’m not going to get into my convoluted theory of emotions when just the thought of a simple smile will do. There is no need to complicate such a wonderful expression, and one of the easiest ways to brighten a day.
  A smile is a powerful thing. Simply allowing a smile to grace your lips will change your view of the outside. Inside it will release specially-flavored hormones that will deepen your reflection of the world.
  And it will deepen and brighten the lives of those around you, even total strangers.
  It’s a reciprocal thing,
  We all need more to smile about, thus we all need to smile more.
  How about this weekend (like beginning right now) we all make a point of smiling more.
  Smile at your family, or coworkers, at the barista, that grumpy IT guy at the office, or the cop on the corner.
  Smile at your boss, or her boss, or the panhandler who hits you up every single morning (it might be time to give him something and smiles cost nothing).
  Just try, just this weekend, and let’s see if we can spread a little more joy and happiness.
  It never hurts to try.

Smile by smile, one at a time,
we can make a difference.
SHARE YOUR SMILE on
FaceBook, Instagram, and
Twitter. Like + share, Tweet
and ReTweet those who will
do the same, tag your friends.
Use the hashtag #smile
(let’s keep it simple)
I’m on Twitter @sayit4word
Add me, and I will be certain
to #passiton

Hello Winter

The weight of winter hardly upon us, 
only now is our reality apparent.
The season must be seen to be felt.

Without snow there are only 
harsh winds and inconvenient truths.
Precipitation fuels our anticipation.

On the cusp of Solstice, Christmas 
barely a week away, winter now visible.
We live the season as much as we wear it.

Months from now we will wish it all 
away, yet today our feelings are as fresh 
as the fallen snow. Hello winter.

12/20/2024                                j.g.l.

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December 16

Mondays are just young Fridays

The learning never stops; and so, it shouldn’t.

Often, more through trial than error, I have taken on new tasks throughout my life and the experience (for the most part) leaves me in a better place; no matter how difficult it seems at first.

I am undertaking a redesign of this website. Not the type to go into things blindly, I’ve taken on some help to see myself through the process. I knew, from the outset, that I would require some assistance just as I did when I opened up Mythos & Marginalia almost a decade ago.

So much has changed in the years since. I wanted to take this opportunity to not only update the look of the website, but also my skills.

I am learning.

While I know (or think I know) what I want, turning my ideas into a tangible reality is not easy. I understand the fundamentals of page design from my years in the newspaper industry but editing and layout has come a long way from the days of pencils and pica sticks. Technically it is easier now (or should be), but it is the technology that I have issues with. My knowledge of coding was never what it should be, so I am trying to learn more.

The learning never stops.

The WordPress ‘classic editor’ — the platform I have worked on until recently — is, principally, more straightforward with its options. Selecting text size was a drop-down menu, and aligning the type was just a choice of clicks. Working in this format had become routine.

The newer (and, apparently, more advanced) ‘block editor’ mostly seems to skip those familiar steps. I, now, should be able to work more visibly to adjust the text to what I am trying to achieve. That’s a big “should be”. I am, right now, daunted by what should be simple keystrokes and sizing on a very intuitive template.

Making mistakes is easy; correcting them often proves difficult. Understanding the errors of my ways takes understanding and knowledge. I am learning. Slowly.

I guess I had become too used to doing things in a certain way, in a specific order, always able to visualize the results. Now, in this new format, all I seem to be doing is confusing myself.

I am not working in my habitual ways. But I am still learning. That’s a good thing.

You don’t learn from routine, yet you should routinely be learning.

12/16/2024 j.g.l.

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December 22

Solstice Blessings

In North America, we have come out of the longest and darkness night of the year.

From here on in it only gets brighter.

Deify the light; acknowledge the dim.

Christmas is but a few days away, the high holidays close, and the spirit of the season is building. In all our cultures, there are so many good and wonderful days ahead.

I wish you and your families and friends — those who are close and them far away — everlasting love and community in the days and years to follow.

deep peace

j.g. lewis

12/22/2024

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December 19

speak up

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December 17

12/17/2024

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