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Monthly Archives: May 2017

Play On

Having read Mick Fleetwood’s (the Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac) autobiography, “Play On”  I’ve decided I want to play on. I want to continue to have new adventures, to expand who I am.  To quote Mick Fleetwood, “…adventures are how we learn who we really are.”  That is why I started this blog. 

Having had a successful career and now being retired, I’m frequently asked, if I miss my job.  My career was a big part of my life, so it’s natural for my friends to assume I would miss that part of my life but I really don’t.  I’ve outgrown that person I was.  I’m someone new who wants to express myself in new ways.  I want to have new adventures, to see in new ways, so I will become more and create anew. 

 I’m not a talented musician, I can’t carry a tune. So I’ve chosen to inspire through writing.  I feel I am on a rebirth, a new way to expressing myself. The words, “Play On” are so simple yet so full of meaning.  I don’t want to “work on.” I want to have fun.  I want to follow my passion to inspire myself and others.

As I read “Play On” I got the sense of the overwhelming passion required for Mick to “Play On,” to keep the band together; for the band to become more than the sum of its parts. His passion inspires me.  The band became the venue for the members to express themselves artistically, to express what lived in their souls.  I want to express what is in my soul.  Mick’s book inspires me to express my passion, to take risks, to keep moving forward, to be fearless.  

Mick talked about how he gained more than his fans.  Isn’t that such a great win-win situation, to be able to do what you love and influence millions with the songs your band brought to life.  How wonderful it is to make connections, to inspire, to make people happy and so much more from doing what you love. I’m grateful that Fleetwood Mac played on so I could see them in person in Chicago in October 2014.  How fun that was to finally have the opportunity to see Fleetwood Mac live.   Thank you for sharing your heart and soul with the world.

I’ve come to realize there are four places to live your life; 

           You can live on a “downward spiral.“

           You can “live stuck.”  

           You can “move on” out of your stuck place. 

           The ultimate place to live is where you “Play On.”  

 I’ve come to learn when you’re stuck you need to move on before you can play on.  When my son of 33 years died of cancer.  I got stuck.  I wasn’t living.  I was so sad it was hard to even survive. I was on a journey I did not choose.  Then, I decided and yes it was a conscious decision to move on.  I forced myself to go out on New Year’s Eve when I all I wanted to sit home and cry, but I went out and had fun.  I didn’t want to let my son’s death define who I was.  I wanted to become more because of his death, not less.  I wanted his death to have meaning and so I started a scholarship award at his college.  I have recently transitioned from moving on to playing on.  I’m now at a happy and peaceful place and I am now finally playing on.

Just as the Fleetwood Mac band has morphed so many times over the years (and in my opinion always becoming better), so will I morph to become better.  I am going to play on.  I don’t want to die with my music in me.

Thank you for riding along on this journey.  I hope to inspire as I find my voice, as I follow my passion to change the world through kindness. I will “play on” and  I hope you will, too.

Further discussion:     How do you move on when you are stuck? How have you played on? What dreams are you passionate about?    How do you inspire yourself and others?   

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Staying in Touch: Barbara Hirsh can be reached at info@LiveKinder.com  I love hearing your kindness stories.  Please sign-up for a weekly kindness message at www.LiveKinder.com or follow LiveKinder on Facebook!

Mother’s Day Kindness

Anna Jarvis understood the importance of mothers and wanted to honor their sacrifices and role they have in their children’s lives. In 1908, she orchestrated the first U.S. Mother’s Day celebration in a Methodist church in West Virginia. She started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood. Woodrow Wilson establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day in 1912.  However, by 1920, Anna had become upset on the commercialization and resorted to an open campaign against Mother’s Day profiteers.  She spent her wealth on countless lawsuits against groups that had used the name “Mother’s Day.”  Her vision for Mother’s Day was time spent together as a kind family.

    I love that there is a day to remind us to be kinder to our moms and to honor them. Kindness is always about showing love to others.  Please be kind to everyone, but especially to your mom!

Staying in Touch: Barbara Hirsh can be reached at info@LiveKinder.com  I love hearing your kindness stories.  Please sign-up for a weekly kindness message at www.LiveKinder.com or follow LiveKinder on Facebook!

Do You Have Time to Be Kind?

My Aunt Carolyn is very special to me. She endeared my heart when she was engaged to my uncle.  I was six, when she introduced me to my first movie. It was 1957, and the movie was the third release of Bambi.  My parents rarely went to the movies, so this was an extra special treat. I was also a flower girl in their wedding, another special time I will always cherish. I just loved that Carolyn became part of the family.  She dressed so fashionable and was also so kind to me.

My Aunt and Uncle took over my grandpa’s farm of 160 acres, a large herd of registered Guernsey dairy cows, and thriving farm market known for their quality produce, in particular, sweet corn and apples.  My aunt seems to have unlimited energy. She helped with the milking of the cows twice every day. Cows need to be milked every 12 hours, so there was no taking off when you were sick or tired. She cleaned her large farm house, cooked three meals a day, helped with the field work, especially their large produce garden that supplied their roadside stand and the food for their use, and she loved working in her flower garden. She worked the roadside stand from sweet corn season to pumpkin time.  They later constructed a building to house the farm market which was open from March through December.  Being a farmer’s wife is a never-ending job.

She also raised four children and found time to read them stories before their naps.  I remember when she was in labor with her fourth child, she refused to go to the hospital until she finished mowing their large yard and washing the kitchen floor.

Carolyn works so hard, it makes me tired just thinking about it, but I never once heard my Aunt complain about not having time. She always talked and still talks today about her life with such passion and satisfaction.

So, if there is anyone that does not have time to be kind, it would be my Aunt Carolyn.  Quite to the contrary, my Aunt Carolyn is one of the kindest people I know.  She has such a giving heart, three sizes too big.  Kindness is part of who she is; she is always using her talents for kindness.

I love random acts of kindness, but I believe it is a lot harder to incorporate kindness in everyday living.  When you live with kindness in your heart every day, you can change the world you live within.  How do you do this?  You do this by using the talent you were given and sewing those talents to your passions.  This is what I have learned from my Aunt Carolyn.  She has many talents, but there are four that are pivotal to her spreading kindness.  Overall, she spreads kindness by nourishing others.

One of Carolyn’s favorite ways to show love is through cooking, baking and canning.  From her zucchini breads, pecan pies or a jar of pickles; she loves to bake or can, not just for herself, but to give to others including her nieces and nephews, grandchildren, friends, neighbors and even the postman.   It is her way of nourishing people not just with food, but food wrapped in love.

Carolyn loves flowers, gardening, and making things grow.  But for her, flowers needed to be shared with others to make their days happier.  She decorated the church week after week, season after season, year after year coming up with new and creative idea that displayed a small sampling of God’s beauty for others to enjoy.  I love looking at her scrapbook of how she decorated her church for Christmas for over fifty years.

Carolyn has a passion for educating children about agriculture. Carolyn and Alvin opened their farm to school tours for over fifty years, reaching thousands of children. Children were given a chance to milk a cow; pet a calf, hold a duckling, chicken, or pig; pick an apple and were given a free carton a milk.  Money was never charged for these tours; it was their way of teaching children about farm life and sharing their passion.  A way of sharing everyday kindness.  It is her dream to convert her barn into an agricultural resource center for future generations.

Carolyn is a true caregiver, opening her heart, and if need be her home, to aunts, her mom and elderly friends without family. She would clean their houses, drive them to doctor appointments, cook and shop for them, but she went beyond tasks and always made them feel loved. My cousins remembering delivering many meals she made to many shut-ins.  She delivered food but also stayed and spent time with each person to cheer-up their day. She always made time for those in need.

So, how have you integrated kindness into your life? My Aunt Carolyn has done it by marrying her passions with her talents. She does not wait to be asked, she just makes the time.   She exemplifies everyday kindness and for that reason my Aunt Carolyn is this week’s Caring Heart award winner.

Thanks to Linda Wenck and Gloria Basse for contributing to this week’s article.  In Linda’s words, “My Mom is the kindest, most loving person I know. She is always thinking about how to help and make other people happy!”

Staying in Touch: Barbara Hirsh can be reached at info@LiveKinder.com and please sign-up for weekly kindness message at www.LiveKinder.com or follow LiveKinder on Facebook!