Category: Life Long Learning

Colonial Cemetery Savannah GA
Change, Family, Growth Mindset, Inspiration, Life Lessons, Life Long Learning, Photography

Stronger Than I Thought

Catherine Matthews Images

On that day, I learned that the limits of my personal strength were so much greater than I had ever imagined.  I learned that sometimes people need an object lesson in their ignorance, but there is no reason to rub it in their face.  Actions speak louder than words and experience is the best teacher.   I learned that I might not be able to change other people’s long held beliefs, but I don’t have to be a victim to them either. I learned that people may try to set limits for me, but I don’t have to accept those limits.  I learned I was stronger that I thought.

small brown mammal in a pasture
Inspiration, Life Lessons, Life Long Learning, Mindfulness, Photography

Finding the Purpose of (My) Life

Catherine Matthews Images

It got me thinking about the purpose of my own life. That is one of the biggest of all questions.  Why do I exist? For that matter, why do Woodchucks exist? Or Banana Slugs?  I believe there is a purpose for everything (– to paraphrase Ecclesiastes 3:1 and The Mamas and The Papas).   I believe I have led a purpose-driven life....

Dogs, Growth Mindset, Inspiration, Life Lessons, Life Long Learning, Parenting

If you believe you are a Labrador Retriever….

Catherine Matthews Images

What if we all believed that we could get better at something, master it even, just by learning from our mistakes and trying again?  What if we didn’t have a story about the past that limited our experience in the present?  What if we saw our failures as learning and not as personal deficits?  What if we believed we could change the outcome merely through increasing our effort and applying our talents?  What if we acknowledged and acted upon the possibility that we might have talents we have not yet discovered? 

Rusting Crane on the Snohomish River
Art, Inspiration, Life Long Learning, Photography

Confessions of a Closet Artist

Catherine Matthews Images

Confession time. I was a science major. There, I said. It’s out.  What a relief!  Does that mean I am not also an artist?  Well frankly, I sure thought so.  In fact, I could make you a chart quantifying my non-artistic characteristics. (My friends are shaking their collective heads right now both in exasperation and agreement- I really will make you a chart. It will be a work of art.) I thought people were basically artists or scientists.  And every other “ist” was just a branch of those two categories.  Clearly, I spent too much time on Linnaeus. In my overly dichotomous mind, I am a scientist. I definitely see the world through that lens. Even when I am literally looking through my lens, ...