New Years Resolutions – Charity Matters

Charity Matters Inspiration January 5, 2020

New year, new decade….

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

C. S. Lewis

Well, it is here. A new year and a new decade. A new chance to look back at what 2019 brought you in the way of challenges, gifts, and direction. Now a time to look at where you are going in 2020. What is your vision for 2020? As Germany Kent said, “Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.” Something I believe in but first, we need to figure out what we want to do?

2019 is so last year but I am proud of the continued growth Charity Matters had. We interviewed more nonprofit founders than ever before. Our social media and email subscriptions continue to climb so thank you to all of you for sharing this work with your friends and family. My goal continues to be to get the word out about these remarkable humans who work to serve others.

Last year, I committed to each of you that I was going to be brave and put myself out there more and I did. It was a year of loss with our youngest son off to college and one of my dearest friends moving away. With that loss came new opportunities for growth. That book I said, I would write when my son left for college, I started. This year the goal is to finish it. Trying to stretch and challenge myself in new directions is exciting and terrifying all at once. That is what life is all about…moving ahead.

This year I am committing to finding new ways to get the message out about these amazing people I bring to you each week. The book, possibly a podcast and any other platform that helps me shout from the rooftops just how amazing and good people really are.

So far, I have reviewed what went great last year and what didn’t and am still pulling my full list of resolutions together. List aside, this first week of January is time to pause and reflect on what matters and how we want to achieve that. More than anything I am immensely grateful for love, health, family, faith and friends. The best way I know to show that gratitude is to channel that abundance and love into service. So for 2020, I commit to gratitude, to giving of myself, to being brave and to spreading the love….which is just another word for charity.

Charity Matters

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Charity Matters Inspiration January 9, 2019

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood

“There are those who see the need and respond, I consider those people my heroes.”

Fred Rogers

As the New Year kicks into gear I have been thinking about what is important and what to focus on this year. There is so much negativity in our world or at least in the world presented to us in the media. How does one small voice overcome such noise? In the midst of my pondering, I unexpectedly watched the documentary film, Won’t you be my neighbor? There right in front of me was the answer coming from Mr. Rogers.

A quiet and gentle man who had the idea to give children something meaningful in the midst of the turmoil of the late 1960s. Fred Roger’s mission was to build a community or neighborhood on the basic principles of loving your neighbor and yourself. He said,” Love is at the root of everything.” His life’s work was to make good and he believed that the power of television could build a real community where he could inspire the best in children to do just that.

When I think about New Years and what to focus on in 2019, Mr. Roger’s life and work seemed to capture the true essence of what really matters. There were so many beautiful messages in this film that it is impossible to share them all. Here are a few of my favorite takeaways and something to think to about as you begin looking at what matters in your year ahead.

“Although children’s “outsides” may have changed a lot, their inner needs have remained very much the same. Society seems to be pushing children to grow faster, but their developmental tasks have remained constant.”

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

“It’s not so much what we have in this life that matters. It’s what we do with what we have.”

“What can change the world? When someone gets the idea that love can abound and be shared.”

Charity Matters

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Charity Matters Inspiration January 1, 2019

New Year

” And now let us welcome the New Year, full of things that never were.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

Happy New Year! I am pretty sure that this year is my year. I know I’ve said this before but I feel that it is my time. Our youngest son is graduating from high school, our second son graduating from college. One of my dearest friends is moving away, the house will be empty and the shift that is an ending and a new beginning has already begun. You feel these things internally and know that loss, growth and change are inevitable. We must shed on old skin to grow a new one. This year I am not afraid but ready.

I am putting myself out there, open to what the universe presents and willing to be vulnerable. These are not easy things to do but signs of readiness to fly. I have spent the last week in Mexico, a country I have refused to visit since my mother died there 16 years ago. I’m not sure what I was afraid of but it was the perfect way to end 2018 and look ahead to the journey that lies ahead in 2019 by embracing a fear and taking it head on.

Life is too short to hold yourself back. We all have such a short precious time on this earth, so how can we use our time to the fullest? This is the question I will be asking myself everyday and throughout the year. I am still pulling my full list of resolutions together but know that more than anything I am immensely grateful for love, health, family, faith and friends. The best way I know to show that gratitude is to channel that abundance and love into service. So this year, I commit to gratitude, to giving of myself, to being brave and to spreading the love….which is just another word for charity.

Wishing you a year full of love in 2019.

Happy New Year!

Charity Matters.

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What Matters? January 1, 2018

Happy New Years 2018

“To make an end is to make a beginning.”

T.S. Eliot

Happy New Years! In full disclosure I am writing this letter on New Year’s Eve, but by the time you read this tomorrow morning your head may hurt, you may still have not gone to sleep or you will be having a fantastic lazy day in your pjs and I hope it’s the latter. I was recently asked what I do to prepare for the New Year and the question got me thinking about the quote above, “To make an end is to make a beginning.” Before I can begin the New Year I have to properly say goodbye to the old one, so here is my goodbye letter to 2017.

Dear 2017,

First, thank you for keeping us safe, happy and healthy. While I would not say that you were a stand out year, you were not horrible either. We had food, shelter, good health and love, so the basics for gratitude were more than covered. Please know how grateful I am.

Secondly, thank you for the memories. While there is not one standout huge moment from the year there was plenty of fun, joy and celebration. Seeing our youngest son get his driver’s license, first job and first car, trips with friends, special moments with family, traditions, The Dodgers in the World series, the incredible people I met through Charity Matters and all who support this work… and the list goes on. Each moment of being alive, surrounded by friends and family was a gift, so thank you 2017.

Lastly, I have to thank you for the challenges too. Last year was a hard one for me in many ways and so many times I wanted to give up, with my load feeling heavy and overwhelming. I didn’t give up but rather learned the lesson of perseverance. That is what you taught me 2017, to keep going, not to quit, even when things got tough. Now that 2018 is looming ahead, the gift of perspective has shown me that invaluable lesson.

So thank you 2017 and welcome 2018! I lam looking forward to you New Year. I love new beginnings, new chapters and fresh starts. I am excited for the year ahead, for moving the needle a bit farther, to start that book I have been thinking of writing, to continue to dream big, to help and serve more people and organizations and to use my time to make our world better. I look forward to using the new luggage Santa brought for more travels, adventures and time with ones I love. Most of all, I look forward to learning, growing and evolving from all the lessons and experiences you are bringing my way. I am ready for your 2018 so let’s get this year started!

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Quotes January 6, 2016

Charity Matters Quotes: The resolution

“Always bear in mind, that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”

Abraham Lincoln

This new year, I feel as if I am slowly coming out of my cocoon. I am not wildly embracing the New Year, but rather slowly crawling into it. I am cautiously making sure that 2015 has passed and am excited about the new possibilities ahead, including our new cocoon.

So, as I chew on both my professional and personal goals for the year ahead, I am already enjoying the slower pace at which they will arrive. Not rushed, but rather contemplated and thoughtful.

A good start to ensuring that those resolutions are set up for success.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2016 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Charity Matters Inspiration January 2, 2015

Happy New Years

“Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.”

Michael Josephson

Very rarely do I look back, it is simply not my style…I am a move ahead kind of person. However, this time of year I like to look back at my past posts and see what resolutions I made to you, myself and how I stacked up. I have to say, this is the one time that a blog is a blessing and a curse.

The blessing is that I am held accountable to each of you in a very public way and the curse is I am held accountable in a very public way. This year as I looked back and read last years posts I was struck at how spot on it was and remains. So I am sharing the highlights of it here:

Looking back for me, is more than checking items off my list, but rather a time to ask myself the real questions:

Was I present and in the moment with my children and family?
Was I a good spouse, daughter, friend?
Did I use my gifts and skills to help others?

These are the questions that define me, my life, and these are the items that matter, to me. So while I love making list, setting goals and proudly checking some items off the list…….the reality is that if I don’t ask the real questions to myself regularly, than nothing on list really matters.

So, as I bound into 2015 with excitement, I cherish these last few months with my middle son home and dream of travel and home renovation projects to accomplish….I am mindful that a resolution is simply something to strive for. Being the best person you can be, for yourself and the ones you love is truly the goal.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2015 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Charity Matters Inspiration January 3, 2014

Its time for New Years Resolutions

It has been a fun-filled few weeks and now it is that time of year to look back at last year’s resolutions, before making this years. I made many resolutions last year and I am proud to say that many of the big ones I achieved. I did re-do the Charity-Matters web site, we did remodel our kitchen and while I had toyed for many years with “officially going back to work,” this past month I did…more on that later. Looking back for me, is more than checking items off my list, but rather a time to ask myself the real questions:

Was I present and in the moment with my children and family?
Was I a good spouse, daughter, friend?
Did I use my gifts and skills to help others?

These are the questions that define me, my life, and these are the items that matter, to me. So while I love making list, setting goals and proudly checking some items off the list…….the reality is that if I don’t ask the real questions to myself regularly, than nothing on list really matters.

So, as I bound into 2014 with excitement for my new job as an Executive Director of a non-profit, I cherish these last few months with my oldest son home and dream of travel and home renovation projects to accomplish….I am mindful that a resolution is simply something to strive for. Being the best person you can be, for yourself and the ones you love is truly the goal.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2014 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Ways to make a difference February 22, 2013

Random acts of kindness: one week in

How many of you made New Years Resolutions or Lent sacrifices? If so, how is that going for you? I can honestly say after a week into my commitment to perform 46 random acts of kindness, this is more challenging than I thought.

Part of the problem with resolutions I’m discovering is, that we have an expectation in our minds of how they are supposed to play out. We give up chocolate and see ourselves as a super model in a bikini or we give up Facebook and see ourselves with so much extra time. Sadly, these preconceptions are often what becomes our roadblock to success.

I, of course, envisioned myself helping hundreds of little old ladies from Pasadena who were just lining up waiting for me to help them…randomly of course. Surprise, that hasn’t been the case. This past week I have had to go looking for opportunities, they did not come to me as I had thought.

Day one I helped a handicap man at mass, day two I helped an elderly lady at the grocery store, and day three there was no one in line behind me so I could pay for their coffee….hmmm so I put money in an expired parking meter. Then I hit a serious lull, it was late in the afternoon nothing had presented itself (or I wasn’t paying attention) and I panicked..what to do? I picked up the phone and phoned a friend, one I hadn’t spoken to in a long while. Warning: grey area here. Is this a random act of kindness or pre- meditated desperation to fulfill my obligation?

Either way it was a good feeling and even better conversation. So I have still have 39 days to make this right, be kinder, make an effort and more importantly make a tiny difference in this world. Hey, a difference is a difference! Random or not.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Holidays and Holiday Giving January 7, 2013

Oh those resolutions!

“May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions!”
Joey Adams

Oh, it’s that time of year again. We sit, we toil, we ponder and then the tv ad is over and we abandon the thought of those nagging New Year’s Resolutions. For me, it is a process I have embraced for as long as I could hold a pen. The more tragic part of that is looking back each year at those resolutions that I did not complete or achieve.

However, the flip side is there are usually more achieved than not and each year my goals become a tad more realistic…Ok I confess, last year I did write down an absurd amount of Twitter followers that I had hoped to coax to the nest….but I’m a big dreamer….I think you all know that by now. Looking back, maybe I was a bit too optimistic?

However, if we don’t give ourselves a moment to dream, to really think about what we want then how are we ever to achieve it? This year one resolution that I hope to achieve is to revamp The Charity-Matters web-site. Phew, I said it. Now, for the follow through.

Well, I am so glad you are here to hold my feet to the fire, to complete the resolutions and to enjoy every precious moment of the journey. As Emerson said, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” I guess that way regardless of resolution its perfect either way. That is one resolution worth adding to the list this year. What are your resolutions?

Charity Matters.

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