lara simmons

"Our job is to convert the darkness to light. Life is waiting for us to convert the cruelties to light. When faced with darkness, ask yourself: How can I convert this to light? Our job is to convert whatever we encounter to light as quickly as we can." --Jan Phillips

“...[T]o make a place for light the mystic shuts his eyes." --Louise Gluck, from her poem "Bats"

  One of the coolest things we did in LA was visit the Watts Towers , a unique display of public and personal art by Simon Rodia . (If you want to learn more I highly recommend following one of these links.)  While there I picked up a postcard, which was a photo almost exactly like this one I shot by Marisol Manzano, with the following caption: "I want my life to be full of light, color and flavor."  Me too, Simon, me too!

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, here are some of my favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." I think this is my favorite one, but the rest are pretty great.... "The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. " If only every CEO in America lived by this rule.... "Whatever affects me directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the inter-related structure of reality." That's the Oneness, baby..... And a new favorite from the radio coverage of the event today: "Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service... You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love

"What soul was his, when, from the naked top Of some bold headland, he beheld the sun Rise up, and bathe the world in light!" -- William Wordsworth Walking the boys home from school on Wednesday, I found this lying on the sidewalk. Seemed a most appropriate poem to find on the first day of spring.  There were moments on that day - between bouts of blustery, cold, winter wind - that our world seemed to be bathed in light. How it does awake the soul! Grateful thanks to the soul who dropped it.