An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of humanity. – Martin Luther King, Jr

We think we will have more time to say those words, to see that friend or family member, or have another chance to make memories together. More often than not, though, we don’t know when that “last moment” will be. That is why we can’t keep putting off time spent with others. Now is the right time.

"The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart." ~ Maya Angelou

‘We have all known the long loneliness and have found that the only solution is love, and love is found in community." —Dorothy Day

A stunning poem titled "Accumulated Lessons in Displacement" by Rachel E. Hicks in the Baltimore Review. baltimorereview.org/maryland_wri...

Substack LIVE tomorrow, plus Book Award News! and more - read the latest issue here - and please join us LIVE on Substack, Sunday, April 27 at 1pm CT! open.substack.com/pub/prasanta...

As we are currently witnessing a painful shrinking in the infrastructure of public health, the loss of jobs, and funding, I think this is actually going to create a need for even greater public health infrastructure & growth in the future (when all this is over). This will all need to be rebuilt.

The daffodils bloomed today.

I stepped outdoors and was greeted by these little surprises - the first blooms of spring. 🌷

I was traveling this past week and happened to come across this great mural.

“…our individual freedoms—our privacy—are hanging in the balance. Once we go even further down this slippery slope, it will become harder and harder to recover. This is your red alert. Pay attention. Ask the hard questions.” www.livingitwitholiviatroye.com/p/tim-haughs...

I'm continually seeking things that are beautiful to see and read. Pondering what is good and beautiful amidst all kinds of challenges and uncertain times keeps me sane and grounded. Art, poetry, and nature are three of those things.

Incredible. Protests all over the U.S. and Europe.

“Great democracies don’t die from external threats. They die from internal corruption.” @booker.senate.gov

April was just beginning, and after the warm spring day it turned cooler, slightly frosty, and a breath of spring could be felt in the soft, cold air…And everyone was silent, deep in thought, everything around was welcoming, young, so near... ― Anton Chekhov, Short Stories

I visited DC just over a week ago, and sadly it was a bit too soon for the full cherry blossoms, but I had a wonderful time visiting family & friends, seeing a few sights (Jefferson Memorial, Washington National Cathedral, Planet Word Museum/Lexicon Lane) & eating delicious food.

I've been a subscriber of the Atlantic for the past couple of years. Highly recommend. Very appreciative of the journalistic integrity on display especially in the past few days. @theatlantic.com

“I can't think of a case where poems changed the world, but what they do is they change people's understanding of what's going on in the world.” ― Seamus Heaney

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." “Despotic power is always accompanied by corruption of morality.” “Authority that does not exist for Liberty is not authority but force.” “Absolute power demoralizes.” - Lord Acton

Our libraries. Libraries are essential. www.ala.org/news/2025/03...

The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book. –Samuel Johnson

I am honored to share that 𝑩𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝑬𝒕𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 has been named a finalist in the 2024 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑 INDIES Book of the Year Awards!! More information about the award and a list of other finalists can be found here: www.forewordreviews.com/awards/final...

"no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark you only run for the border when you see the whole city running... i want to go home, but home is the mouth of a shark..." Excerpted from Home, by Warsan Shire

Lawmakers are elected by the people and are answerable to their constituents. They are public servants. x.com/politico/sta...

We are alarmed, saddened, and ashamed by the disgraceful treatment of U.S. leadership toward Ukraine. Is this America, where we berate allies, fire thousands of our workers, stop critical aid & refugee programs, and side with authoritarianism? Yet here we are. It's reprehensible.

“In those years, people will say, we lost track of the meaning of we, of you we found ourselves reduced to I…”

Word of the Day is ‘ingordigiousness’ (18th century): extreme greed at the expense of principles.

All Creatures Great and Small is a lovely, nostalgic series, a wonderful brief escape from daily cares. The green landscape, too, is a feast for the eyes.

"Why is it that we understand playing the cello will require work, but we attribute writing to the magic of inspiration?"~Ann Patchett

I appreciate the factual and historically-informed synthesis and news updates here. open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

Our national parks are a treasure. One of my joys over the years has been the privilege of taking family vacations to national parks and making memories there with my kids. We'd meet people from all over the world visiting there. What a painful tragedy if we lose caretaking of our parks!

“Be clear about what’s happening,” Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark posted. “Trump and his administration, and thus America, is siding with Putin and Russia against a United States ally.

Who else feels like we’re living in a dystopian novel these days?

So much troubling news. Many poor & elderly folks with legit needs will suffer (& many are waiting to hear if we will have jobs). Is this how to get work done? Throw people under the bus? We're not talking about just money. We're talking about people's lives.

"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone — we find it with another." ~ Thomas Merton

Gathering quotes to help me cope with the brutal cold: Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.- Victor Hugo What fire could ever equal the sunshine of a winter’s day?-Henry David Thoreau To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.- Aristotle

I saw other authors doing this and it looked fun: books as Golden Globe looks. 🏆 Which one do you like? 😂

I've been practicing Spanish on Duolingo and I got this message yesterday which made me laugh: "You made 0 mistakes. Unlike in real life." Haha! Truth coming out from Duolingo. LOL 😂

"Stories are holy and nutritious and crucial. Stories change lives; stories save lives.... They crack open hearts, they open minds." ~ Brian Doyle

"It was November - the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines." -L.M. Montgomery 📷 me, Lake MI shoreline

My first post here is that I’m writing again. :) #writers, looking to connect!