HeartBeat

My family’s immigration story from Lebanon has always captivated me. My grandfather was a fantastic storyteller and would regale us with tales of the Old Country. To this day, I can smell my grandmother’s kitchen. When you think of your grandmother’s kitchen, what comes to mind? We can learn a lot about a person by the family recipes they preserve and pass on to generations: Syrian rice, baklava, Kibbeh nayyeh, stuffed grape leaves, tabouleh, hummus. Culture runs deep in my kitchen and in many kitchens of the homes I am blessed to visit. Food is the single great unifier across cultures. Food feeds the soul. My soul is so touched by the honor of serving on the Cultural Integration Committee with the Nellie Mae Foundation. It has become quite clear that my role as a woman of culture is to elevate other women of culture. I’ll have you know their glass ceiling is a little higher and a little thicker. I have developed deep bonds with many of the women and their children in the commun...

I have been so humbled by friends, colleagues, students, and parents very kind remarks on my presence. I am deeply honored knowing that both my presence and absence means something. Presence is more than eye contact, articulation, posture, and appearance. Radiance comes from comfort and confidence knowing who you are as a person. Presence is the outward reflection of your inner being. I am fortunate and blessed beyond measure to inspire and lead others toward revealing their uniqueness. The caveat to building a presence is time and patience.  If you are painfully shy, cultivating presence requires more time and patience. Work-related communications and public speaking do not ignite my bashfulness. However, I encounter shyness when I meet new people on a personal level. Presently, I am far less timid in an intimate setting. I have recently stepped out of my comfort zone, pushing myself out the door for activities and events that inspire me. Basically, I am dating myse...

This past week I had a delightful evening with these incredible master storytellers. Mesmerizing and a complete joy to acknowledge their work and contributions to the arts. I have been thinking a lot about creativity and passion lately. There is an interview with Kelly Pollack, Executive Director of the Center Of Creative Arts in which she states, “The value of arts education and the creative process is also about developing the skills that are most in demand in today’s workforce—creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and ingenuity.” And she is right. The world needs creative thinkers now more than ever. From a personal perspective, businesses are changing their hiring approach and methods; parents are encouraging their children to have an open global vision; educators are creating highly engaging units of study to bring curiosity and authenticity to the forefront. Some rise to the occasion, while others are not equal to the task. Despite that we can unequivocally agree...

We’re here on the sandbar at Sebago Lake State Park, at the mouth of the Songo River. In the fall, salmon spawn in these lake outlets or inlets. They bury their eggs in gravel approximately a foot deep which will hatch in the spring. At the moment, the adults have left this nursery habitat and are now feasting in these deep waters of Sebago. Fishermen who frequent these waters enjoy the catch of the day. There is a quiet reserve about the world in the winter months, as animals and people retreat. It becomes such a simple palette, frenzy-free from the summer schedule. We respond in kind by withdrawing inside, tucked away from the dark, cold which permeates the outdoors. We build romantic fires and favor comfort foods. And just as animals crawl into snow caves, we also hunker down for deep sleep and catnaps. When we surrender to nature’s timeline, we permit ourselves to slow down. In parallel, our warm hearth and home beckon gatherings, filling our world with blessings of friendsh...