Words from the Heart

Recently, I greeted an acquaintance with, "Happy Holidays!"  What I received in return was the most unexpected reply, "Come on, Linda, you mean Merry Christmas, don't you?" Since I knew that this particular person was Christian, it might have seemed more appropriate to wish a Merry Christmas as I left, but we were in a public venue with people who I knew did not celebrate the Christian holy day of Christmas, let alone the secular version.  So... the greeting of Happy Holidays as I was leaving seemed very appropriate. As you can see from the picture above, there are many Holy/holi days in the winter months.  The ones pictured include six that are not Christian. Since I work, live and communicate in a multicultural, multi-faith traditioned society, I believe wishing others a happy holiday is A. kind, B. thoughtful and C. more than appropriate. I also think about that adage that many use, "What would Jesus do?"  Well, first of all, Jesus wouldn...

As a teen, the song by John Lennon - Imagine - touched something deep within.  I believed, as many others do, that we can create a world where " all the people (are) Living life in peace..."  But, it takes work and it also takes courage to stand up against the ridiculous, the oppressive and the norm. So, when I read the story about the 73-year old vet who was fired from Cracker Barrel because he gave some tartar sauce and a corn muffin to a homeless man, I wondered...I imagined how else this could have been handled. According to the news reports, this was not the first time Joe Koblenzer "violated" company policy.  So, let's imagine that when he first saw a needy person and offered them something from the kitchen the manager, instead of writing him up, sat and discussed the situation.  What if, the manager said,"Gee, Joe, I see you really want to help the homeless people we have here in Venice.  Is there something we can present to the corporate ...