One Year on Substack - Happy Birthday!

Fifteen years and several pounds ago…

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It's been 368 days since I took a leap of faith and posted my first article on Substack. Today, I’m sharing my 57th post. 

When I started, I wasn’t sure if anyone other than family and a handful of good friends would care or read what I had to say, but I knew that posting my thoughts and experiences online was something I needed to do for me. It was now or never. 

So I jumped in with weekly posting, and to my surprise, I found myself quite comfortable and welcomed in the Substack community. Thank you! 

If you are reading this post and are still deciding whether you should start posting on Substack, please do it yourself. You'll find friendly, supportive readers and writers standing beside you and cheering you on.

This week is also my birthday, which I consider my own personal New Year's celebration. I look forward to the year ahead and am grateful for the joy from the previous year. 

It’s a time of renewal. 

Beginning this month and for at least the next year, I plan to share some of my personal photos and favorite quotes on the first Friday of every month.  

I hope you enjoy them!  

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Lava Tubes in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

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Be a voice, not an echo.

In a world of whispers, rise and speak,

A voice unique, no echoes weak.

Forge your path where none have tread,

Let your thoughts be boldly spread.

In shadows where the echoes hide,

Step into light, with strength and pride.

Be the voice that breaks the mold,

A story new, a truth untold.

Echoes fade in time's embrace,

But voices leave a lasting trace.

So dare to dream, to shout, to show,

Be a voice, let your spirit glow.

—Banksy Poems 

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Two sandhill cranes taking shelter in my front yard from a thunderstorm 

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“You can have everything you want in life 

if you will just help enough                                                                                                                       

other people get what they want.”

---Zig Ziglar

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Akaka Falls State Park, Hilo, Hawai’i

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“…I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance…”

—Song by Lee Ann Womack and Sons of the Desert

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Flowers outside Hotel Fairmont Empress Victoria, BC, Canada

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 “Acknowledging the good

 you already have in your life

is the foundation

 for all abundance.”

  —Eckhart Tolle

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That’s the perfect quote to leave you with this week.  See you next Friday. 

As always, thanks for reading! 

Keep smiling!

xx