“When it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. You can’t sugarcoat it, you have to take a stand and say, ‘This is not right.’” – Claudette Colvin

“Your life is not static. Every decision, setback, or triumph is an opportunity to identify the seeds of truth that make you the wondrous human being that you are.” Oprah Winfrey If you look back at your life, can you identify “the seeds of truth” hidden at the time and visible now? One of the…

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” – Oprah Winfrey

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.” ​ – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been.” ​ – Rainer Maria Rilke

“Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.” ​ – James Baldwin James Baldwin certainly “did it” at a time when the color of one’s skin wasn’t simply a hurdle but a roadblock. Is something standing in the way of you achieving your own goals? Maybe the best thing…

On this winter solstice, the last day of Hanukkah, only four days to Christmas, five to Kwaanza, as well as the many other sacred events we celebrate this time of year, let us reflect on these words: “This is the season when people of all faiths and cultures are pushing back against the planetary darkness.…

“I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else, it must be in my own way.” ​-Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility What makes you happy at this time of year when happiness is nearly a requirement? I hope your holidays will be spent doing that, and mostly that—along with…

“Use your knowledge, and your heart, to stand up for those who can’t stand, speak for those who can’t speak, be a beacon of light for those whose lives have become dark.” ​ – Julie Andrews