For Friday, May 3: Don't just look, SEE.

I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life and never seen. John Steinbeck

We can look at someone and not see them. We can look straight at someone and see right through them. I'm guilty of doing this. I'm guilty of looking right through someone. And guess what? They know it, they can sense it. And guess what else? It communicates to that person that I don't think they have value or that they are worth really seeing. Sometimes it is hard to really look at someone. Sometimes their pain - internal and/or external - is hard to really see. So we, okay I at least, look at them but blind my eyes to really seeing them. If I see them then I have a responsibility to care, be involved. And that can be really tough. That's going to require time, energy, patience, sacrifice, and what else? It's tough. But to really see someone, to really look at them and all their pain is the better thing to do than to look through them. To really see someone and acknowledge their value as a human is the better thing to do, the right thing to do, the courageous thing to do. It's the best thing for them and it's the best thing for me, for *you*, to.

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April 5, 2015

The Feast of Firstfruits & Easter Go for Broke Day If it scares you this is the day to go for it no matter what. One Day Without Shoes Day Today is to raise global awareness for children’s health and education. Why shoes? Because shoes help protect from bacteria in the dirt, rusty nails, dirty needles and shoes enable feet to withstand the long distances most children in developing countries need to walk to get to school. Join TOMS One for One There is plenty of criticism out there for TOMS and its short term solutions. Critics don't even buy the "at least they are doing something" statement. However, you have to start somewhere. And every bit of awareness helps something go from short term to long term. We all have a part to play. Read a Road Map Day One of the many reasons I would stink at The Amazing Race is because I never did learn how to read a road map well. I remember doing worksheets and class lessons on maps and I was able to skate by ...

Butter someone up

There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment.

A dime a dozen

"It's said that in the year 1796, the first U.S. dimes were produced for circulation. Hence, it would make sense for this phrase to originate sometime after." Read more here . Today the phrase carries the meaning that something is cheap or without value if it can be lumped in with other similar or exactly-like things. It's more of an insult than anything.

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