Open Arms

Sometimes it hits me how very blessed I am to have some of the most wonderful, loving, interesting and deep friends.

This morning, a friend forwarded one of those photographic emails that make the rounds, this one of a polar bear's encounter with dogs. A potentially threatening scenario turned out to be a loving one, in which the polar bear embraced the dogs and played with them instead of attacking.

His accompanying note was: "see? there's still hope for the world." This is especially meaningful because he's a California law enforcement officer who leans toward the cynical.

We exchanged some dialogue, and then, he wrote: "Open arms can be a powerful defense."

Today, in particular,and especially from him, that seems profound and something we should remember more often.

Thank you, Patrick. Happy new year and warm hugs to you and yours, with love.

The Great Gamble

I recently came across Paulo Coelho's work. He's a Brazilian writer, rather controversial. Critics believe his work is simplistic and that he plagiarizes.

To that I would say that some of the most profound messages are the simplest.

And there are really no new themes or plots in literature...so really, every writer plagiarizes.

This quote is his.