My Wish for 2011: A Smile, Freely Given

Well, hi! Long time no chat! I'm still in the midst of my online vacation, but a little birdie told me I have a new article up on AOL Opinion that I wanted to share with you. It's about what I wish for 2011. And yes, the title is a dead giveaway.

I was inspired by the following quote by  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I hope it inspires you as well.

"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de- humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."

Many thanks to AOL and Red Room for giving me the opportunity to smile at you from afar.

Enjoy!

And here's wishing you the most spectacular of New Year's Eves. Have fun and be safe!

xo,

JT