Inspiration for a joyful and creative life

If you are lucky, you have been the recipient of the wonderful, unconditional, deep and abiding mother’s love.

And if you are even luckier, you marry into a family and receive it yet again…..and again.

I’m that lucky.

I don’t think you can appreciate it as much as when you have your own children and find your heart expanding more than you ever thought possible.

It’s true that we don’t always give our mothers the thanks and appreciation they deserve.

After all, they were the ones that made us eat our vegetables and say please and thank you.

They were the maid, the chauffer, the cook, the laundress, the travel agent, and the holiday Meister.

Sometimes we took their great care and concern for us for granted.

So, this is a loving tribute to my Moms, to say Thank you!  We love you and appreciate you!

And thank you to all the Mom’s out there who do their best every day to take care of their families.

Have ever wondered if one person can make a difference? Or have you have ever thought the world’s problems are too big to even begin to make a worthwhile change?

I was inspired and in awe of the heroes celebrated on the 2009 CNN Hero Awards. You can check out their stories on CNN’s website http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/.

Here are some of the things these every day heroes have accomplished.

Jorge Munoz is a school bus driver, who spends his evenings, with the help of his family, feeding people who are hungry and on the street.

Doc Hendley mission is helping people all over the world to get clean drinking water.

Betty Makoni, of Zimbabwe, is helping girls and women to to overcome the trauma of sexual abuse and rape and to take a stand against the myths and atrocities that abound in her country.

Jordon Thomas lost his legs in a boating accident at 16 years old. That was four years ago and he created a foundation that has raised more than $400,000 to pay for ongoing prosthetics for children until they reach age 18.

Efron Penaflorida was the winner of the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Award. He brings education to the kids in the slums of the Philippines. He created a simple idea of bringing push carts to the children since they did not have a place to learn. He has created a network to teach the children reading and writing with the hope that education will give them an alternative to gangs and give them hope for a better life.

All ten of the heroes had something in common. They all started with an idea and the passion to help make things better.

I imagine most of them didn’t realize how much of a difference they would make. They just knew they wanted to try. And they took a step to reach out to someone in need.

It does make you think about what you might be able to do. If you think it has to be something really big, it can be too intimidating. If you think about helping one person, or taking a small step to make someones life a little better, it seems possible.

How could you help make someones life just a little better?

I saw the wonderful movie Julia and Julie last weekend.  Most likely you’ve seen the ads for the movie and you may have had one of two reactions.

If you are like me and love to cook, and remember watching Julia Child on PBS, you were eagerly anticipating the movie.  (I hope PBS will air her shows again.)

If you are like my son, he can’t imagine why anyone would want to watch a movie about someone blogging about cooking.

The movie was so well done on many different levels.  The writer and director, Nora Ephron, showed the parallel lives of two women sharing their passion for cooking and life.

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.  Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”     -Albert Schweitzer

Julie Powell, a writer, is ignited by her passion for  Julia Child, author and teacher of Mastering the Art of French Cooking .  Julie chose to blog about her experience of working her way through the cookbook in a year.

Here are some of the lessons I got from the movie:

Finding out what you love to do and are passionate about is worth the effort.

It doesn’t mean you’ll get famous for doing it but it does mean you are using your gifts and talents for a more rewarding life.

Being persistent and patient is its own reward.

Both of these women spent a great deal of time and effort pursuing their passions of cooking and writing, and had many frustrations and dashed hopes along the way but they kept going.

Having support is key.

In the movie, both Julia and Julie have supportive husbands and friends.  Having at least one person that can help you remember that you are capable and wonderful despite the disappointments is priceless.  It can be hard to be persistent and patient without a little pat on the back sometimes.

You never know what might happen.

Julia Child didn’t start out writing a cookbook so she could be a well known TV personality and chef, and wasn’t expecting that to happen.

Julie Powell wanted to give herself a gift of creating a goal and finishing it, and while she hoped that people would read the blog, who would have expected that would lead to a book and a movie?

There were so many levels that I enjoyed this movie.  I loved the passion it showed, both with their careers and their husbands, the story of possibilities, the reassurance that dreams don’t always happen overnight, and the wonderful acting, writing, directing.

What did you think?