Author Archives: seagullwriting

Seagull Thoughts is an extension of my freelance writing business and web site, Seagull Writing, (http://www.seagullwriting.com) and a way of sharing and opening up a dialogue about my experience in copywriting, leadership development, community-building, fundraising and marketing.

A Primer For Happiness

 
When my best friend emailed me the link to Marcus Buckingham’s article in the Huffington Post, “What’s Happening To Women’s Happiness?” (September 17, 2009), I stared at his question at the bottom of the email, “How can I help the women in my life buck the trend?”
Evidence of such a decline wasn’t anything I had seen or [...]

A Locker Room Full of Wisdom

Some of the most helpful insights that come my way occur during heart to heart chats with friends, in locker rooms no less, which seem to rank right up there with hair salons as effective soul-searching venues. Last night at the gym some of us stumbled on the value of letting go of needing control over our lives. I’ve heard the argument before, [...]

Invigorated By The Sound of School Buses

The beginning of the school year, and getting back to a more regimented daily routine, has always been invigorating to me. So when the yellow school buses started rolling last week, I grieved my unfinished summer goals briefly before putting myself into a new gear. The momentum of the buses, and the children starting over with new teachers and new classrooms, [...]

A Valentine of Hope and Unity

Somehow I never wrote about attending Obama’s Inauguration this January 20th but those memories surfaced in my Valentine to friends and family that I am putting in the mail today.
Here it is, to spread the good vibrations a little further:
 
A Message of Hope and Unity
   
This comes with my deep hope that this year will bring us [...]

Victory Heals Old Wounds

My elation and choked sobs upon Barack Obama’s election told me how many wounds I had inside me that I didn’t know were still there, from protesting against racism in the 1960s and watching Washington D.C. burn after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. But then, I don’t think any of us realizes the full effect something has had until [...]

Replacing Treasured Sounding Boards

This past weekend I felt the loss of two old reliable sounding boards on public policy and current events.
Both of these individuals were passionate about politics, a passion of mine as well. And both were comforting, intellectual stalwarts to me whose opinion I sought and valued. Though I felt their viewpoints were fairly predictable, now that they are [...]

Thoroughbred Racing Has to Stop

I could not watch the Kentucky Derby as much as I used to glory in the beauty and exhilaration of the Triple Crown. 
Ever since Barbaro broke down, I’ve sworn that I could and would not support horse racing.
My son asked me if I was going to watch and I told him no. And I didn’t. But [...]

Sharing My Roses with the Aphids

 
 
In celebration of Earth Day, I’m writing about my friends the aphids. They are attacking my New Dawn rose bushes. These two rhapsodic rose bushes are climbers, growing higher every year. If you count their spilling over the trellis and arbor, which I keep adding on to, they are about 16 feet tall at this point, with more life in them [...]

The Search for a People’s Leader

When I meditate about the loss our country has endured from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 40 years ago today, I feel grief first of all; grief and anger that we have had to do without his vision, dignity and courage all these years. Others have taken up the mantle but not as comprehensively, passionately and effectively. [...]

A Good Speech Heals the Hurts

Yesterday was one of those off days, thankfully rare, with two bad interactions in yoga class.
A friend reported she had lost a book I loaned her. No apology, just “I have no idea where it is. Maybe if I had the title.” I didn’t remind her that I had given her the title of what I [...]