• About Me
  • DEBQ
  • The Other Bottom Line
  • Why I do Friday Pick
  • About My Blog

talktodiana

~ Igniting the power and passion in others…

talktodiana

Tag Archives: meaningful

Celebrate Joy and Grow Through Sorrow

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

200 words, change, choice, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, encourage, faith, Fear, gift, grateful, growing up, journey, joy, learning, life, living in the moment, love, meaningful, mistakes, Purpose, Relationships, sorrow

When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate, when life is bitter, say thank you and grow. ~ unknown

alone-black-and-white-girl-photography-Favim_com-319313What an amazing journey we’re on!

Life is a gift.

Its ebbs and flows.

Its highs and lows.

The connections we make and break.

The joys and sorrows we experience.

Each one of our paths; unique

a combination of choice and circumstance.

Sometimes courageously following our dreams. Inspiring and encouraging others to follow theirs. Take hold of ‘moments of joy’ – treasure them in your heart. They will carry you through the hard times.

Other times we are paralyzed by fear. Making us empathetic and patient with others who are afraid. Embrace every part of who you are.

Rippling effects that change the course of our path, that teach us if we let them. Or haunt us until we are teachable.

Life is a gift.

A beautiful and precious gift.

Don’t squander it.

Don’t take it for granted.

Be grateful for every opportunity given.

Even our mistakes have meaning when viewing our lives in this way.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate, when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.

Friendship…

03 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories, Out and About

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

Alberta, Calgary, community, Diana Schwenk, dreams, encourage, friends, health, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, living in the moment, Louise Gallagher, meaningful, Relationships, world issues

The language of friendship is not words but meanings. – Henry David Thoreau

Louise Gallagher Calgary 2014

Louise Gallagher
Calgary 2014

On Thursday afternoon I was looking forward to meeting with Louise Gallagher of Dare Boldly.

Louise and I first met offline, through our common passion and work with, and for, people who live on the streets.

Back in those days, Louise initiated a yearly Christmas wine and dine between us – a sacred space of sorts – for us to speak frankly and from our hearts about our joys, concerns and desired collaborative vision for the homeless sector and community living in general.

An open and trusting conversation was born that transcended our respective organizations and the common cause they shared.

And it was Louise who encouraged me to start a blog!

After some hits and misses as to where we would meet (restaurants that don’t exist anymore) we settled on Mannie’s on 17th Avenue.

There we fed our bodies with delicious food and wine and fed each other’s souls with our individual stories and dreams.

I always feel encouraged when we meet up to catch up. Inevitably there is something I am struggling with and saying it out loud and learning from Louise that I am not alone in my struggles, or hearing her perspective lifts my spirit and re-energizes me.

This is the gift of friendship. This is the value of community.

But it wasn’t all about us and our offline tête-à-tête. We talked about the value of our online community, particularly the readers we share in the blogosphere and how your insights and encouragements are a blessing to us.

Perhaps your ears were burning Ann, Val, Julie, Lisa, Elizabeth, Ian and I can’t remember who else!!

 ~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Maybe Jess C. Scott summarized it best when she said, “Friends are the family you choose.”

Click here to read Louise’s story on our Thursday meet.

What if

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, In My Opinion

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

caring, community, compassion, courage, courteous, Diana Schwenk, diversity, equality, generosity, good character, goodness, happy, helpful, hope, integrity, kindness, love, meaningful, passion, peace, question, spiritual, tolerance, world issues

I know I’m not the first person to ponder what if and I probably won’t be the last.

Even as a child, I would question the way we humans treated each other while at the same time I know full well that, at times, I’ve treated people differently based solely on their appearance or status.

Why do I do that?

I clearly remember wishing that humans would intentionally start marrying people outside of their race and having children. My child-mind wondered how many generations it would take before we all looked alike, spoke the same language and adopted similar values and beliefs.

I still find myself yearning, praying and wishing because isn’t every person worthy?

Isn’t every life sacred?

Realistically, I know that there’s probably no chance we will all become one people, with one language and value system but…

~

What if it didn’t matter if you were black, white, red or yellow?

What if it didn’t matter if you were politically left, right, or in the middle?

What if it didn’t matter if you were educated, uneducated, employed or unemployed?

What if it didn’t matter if you lived in a mansion, an apartment, a hut or on the streets?

What if it didn’t matter if you were rich, poor, or somewhere in between?

What if it didn’t matter if you were Christian, Jewish, Muslim or something else?

What if it didn’t matter if you were straight, gay, bisexual or trapped in the wrong gender?

What if it didn’t matter if you were fat, skinny, short, or tall?

What if it didn’t matter if you were physically ill, mentally ill, or healthy?

What if it didn’t matter if you were young, middle-aged or ancient?

What if it didn’t matter if you were happy, sad, alone or overwhelmed in a crowd?

What if your status wasn’t determined by birth, religion, gender, or economics?

What if it didn’t matter if your hair was blond, brown, red, black or purple?

If your eyes were blue, green, brown or black?

If you spoke Hebrew, Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Polish, German, Russian, or Pig Latin?

If you were Asian, African, European, North American, Hispanic, or Middle Eastern?

If you had a high or low IQ, EQ or cholesterol level?

ac

What if you understood that at your core…

that in essence we are all spiritual beings

who just happen to have a variety of different outer shells and experiences?

What if all that mattered was that you had good character and integrity…

that you strove to find beauty and goodness and meaning in others and in all that you do?

that you were:

Kind to others

Thoughtful

Generous to a fault

Courageous

Tolerant

Loving

Encouraging

Helpful

Hospitable

Compassionate

Truthful

Courteous

Passionate

Hopeful

I want to make a conscious effort to live these values in my life. I know I won’t always be successful, there will be days when I fall short but if I can become aware of the times I don’t quite measure up, I can correct myself and begin again.

HDC Banner

What do you think? What are some of the things you could do differently?

What if?

Related articles

Every now and then I look at the links WordPress recommends. I was quite moved by the link below. If you have a moment, give it a read. It really is quite powerful.

  • What Will Matter – Michael Josephson (tersiaburger.com)

I’m getting another tattoo

18 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, My Stories

≈ 62 Comments

Tags

Body art, children, daughters, Diana Schwenk, family, growing up, hand writing, joy, love, meaningful, memories, Mothers, Relationships, Tattoo

And now I’ll always have a piece of you ~ Michaela Schwenk

Another one? Seriously?

Yup.

Careful you don’t want to go overboard.

I mean, sure you like them now but…

what about when you’re older…

…when you’re older and you want to wear an elegant gown and all these tattoos are peeking out everywhere?

What then?

They’re addictive Mom! I love them!

Well, do they at least have meaning for you?

You don’t want this many, do you?

Are they significant in some way?

Yup.

And I’m thinking about getting my nose pierced too!

What?!

Yup.

Well maybe you should send me a picture of you so that I recognize you the next time I see you!

~

That was a month ago…

Friday night my BlackBerry pinged its alert for an incoming text

A photo actually

from my daughter

A photo of her latest tattoo

of words I’d written

and in my hand-writing.

Wow! (I text back)

I’m touched

It’s the most meaningful thing anyone’s ever given me!

Now I’ll always have a piece of you mom 🙂

but man it hurts!

Yeah, well, sometimes love hurts, I text back while wiping away a tear…

Talk to Diana


"I RELATE WITH, PROMOTE AND SPEAK COMMUNITY WHEREVER I AM..."

Flag Counter

Enter your email address to follow my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,977 other followers

Categories

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Top Posts & Pages you’ve been reading

  • Generosity or Charity?
  • What Can Compare To Love?
  • Are You 'The Talker' or 'The Observer'?

Archives

Links you've been clicking on...

  • talktodiana.files.wordpre…

Red Deer Alberta

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Blog Stats

  • 104,181 hits

Posts I’ve liked recently…

  • Farewell my dear friend on Dare Boldly

My Online Community

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • talktodiana
    • Join 2,977 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • talktodiana
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...