Welcome to New Visitors of the Support4Change Blog
Wanting to have a picture that might brighten up this page, I selected one taken during a balloon celebration in Temecula, California. At first, I simply thought the photo colorful. Then I had to laugh because I realized that all these balloons are like blogs. They are launched with hope they will go far, but they sail on hot air.
With a little better fuel, a little better wind, a little better skill, and a little better luck, some go farther than others. One day, however, we will all have to land. Until then, here’s to the fun of taking off, sharing our opinions, seeing the world from our own perspectives, and steering our crafts as skillfully as we can.
So welcome to my corner of the vast and growing Internet. The opinions I bring to this blog come out my experience as a marriage and family therapist, a mother of four and grandmother of eleven, wife of forty-eight years, the co-founder of two nonprofit organizations, author of two books, and the creator of several personal growth websites. I also bring my passion to do whatever I can to make a difference in the world. As I say in the introduction to About Us on Support4Change:
How can we go beyond our current state of mutual mistrust and build a world that does not constantly teeter on the brink of the next man-made disaster? What can be do about other challenges facing us today, … How can we live more peacefully and equitably on this fragile planet, the one that will be inherited not only by our children and grandchildren, but by our descendants hundreds of years in the future?
I believe the first step is to realize that the only thing we can do, the only thing we have the power to do, is to turn our attention away from the complex issues that are beyond our immediate control (unless we are directly responsible for some part of that issue) and focus on how we are living our own lives… When we commit ourselves to be the best we can be, and to live up to our highest ideals in our personal lives, we will automatically improve our homes, our places of work, our local communities, and the world at large.
It is in the service of assisting the readers of this blog to become the best they can be — so that the world can be the best it can be — that I attempt to bring to these pages ideas and questions that might stimulate your thinking.
As you will discover if you read my blog bio, Arlene Harder, you will discover that I have many interests, and I enjoy learning and writing about many different topics. These range from comments on the foibles and follies of the human race, to the Q-and-A Club, to recommendations for starting a website (which may be folly if you expect the Internet to give you a six-figure income any time soon), to comments on politics, to … well, whatever I happen to take a fancy to at the moment.
FINDING ARTICLES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
If you are reading this blog because someone recommended a particular blog entry and sent you the URL for the journal’s home page, where the article appeared when it was first published, you may not see what you want. Therefore, because it may be hard to find an article someone recommended, I post previous articles in the INDEX to the Blog after they are no longer in the list of “Six Most Recent Entries” (on the right).
“PREVIOUS” OR “NEXT” ENTRY
At the bottom of the blog journal you will find a notation for “Next Entry.” From my perspective, that should be called “previous entry.” But the designers of this format didn’t ask my advice, though the services they provide are excellent in many other ways and I recommend Squarespace.com if you’re thinking of creating your own blog.
CATEGORIES OF ARTICLES
Here are some of the entries you’ll find on this blog:
Commentary on Life Today — These are generally longer pieces with a bit more gravitis than some of the others.
Q-and-A Club — These are questions designed to encourage you to think. They cover five general categories: expanding your horizons, understanding yourself, strengthening friendship and relationships, exploring social and political issues, and deepening faith and spirituality. You can get involved in a discussion of the questions in the Q-and-A Club Yahoo! Group.
Ideas for Parents and Grandparents — These ideas will help you share your experience and open horizons for both you and the children in your lives, as well as teach all of you how to ask questions
Visual Viewpoints — About a year ago I created a feature on Support4Change with pictures with a certain “point of view,” based on where I was standing when I took the picture and the subject I chose to shoot. I will share some of those with you on the blog, rather than just include them in the newsletter, and you will have a chance to submit photos of your own.
A Visiting Blogger — I invite others to share ideas that can stimulate questions
The Lighter Side — In today’s world we all need a little humor to keep our sanity.
Favorite Quotations — This will be kept for days when I need a quick and easy blog. I already have loads of quotations I’d love to share — and hope to get your reaction to them.
A Book Review — I receive many requests for me to review books and, while I don’t have time to read all of them, I do find some are well worth recommending.
Computer Diversions — These are features that come across my desk every once-in-awhile that I think you may enjoy.
CONTACTING ME
Sometimes I allow comments for specific blog entries. However, I’ve had trouble with people who have sent comments from sites that are not appropriate for my readers (or for me). So if comment aren’t allowed on a page, you can fill out the form below and I will respond as soon as possible. Once you click the “submit” button, you will have one more step. You’ll have to fill in a box with the letters or numbers that appear in that funny-looking format that is designed to prevent spam. Then you will be brought back to this page. An automatic response program will then send you an email saying your comment has been received. If you don’t receive that e-mail within 10 minutes, please submit your comments again.
Thank you for your interest in my blog.