Mary Pierce

TODAY’S LAUGH: A friend complained about her brother the other day. “He’s miserable every moment, complaining about what ‘coulda, shoulda been’ and dreading what might come next–all at the same time! He’s just like that old TV show - ‘I Led Three Lives’!”

Now you have to be pretty old to remember that TV classic of Cold War paranoia. I do. Herb Philbrick lived the life of an advertising exec, a spy and a counter-spy all at the same time. Hence, the “three lives.”

The TV show is long gone, but some of us live as three people every day — our past self, our present self and our future self. And like my friend’s brother, all of them are miserable.

Living three lives is exhausting!

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: How many lives are you living right now? We have only this moment - this ONE moment. (And I’m glad because that’s about all I have energy for.) The past is past and we have no guarantee of tomorrow.

This one present moment is where we really live. This one moment where we can choose our attitude and our focus.

In this present moment, is there anything good, delightful, or worthy of praise? What’s joyful, uplifting, hopeful or inspiring? What’s right with your life, right now, right here?

Let the past be gone. Let the future unfold as it will. Focus on this present moment and make it the best it can be.

Breathe. Be thankful. Be blessed one day–one moment–at a time.

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BIRTHDAY BOOK GIVEAWAY: To celebrate my birthday, and to thank you for making my life a party, I’m giving away a book a week the next six weeks (my own books and some other favorites).

Enter via the “CONTACT MARY” link with “FREE BOOK” in the subject line. Enter every day if you wish (one entry per day per person please). The week’s winner will be drawn on Monday night and announced in the Tuesday blog. (Deadline for entering for each week will be Monday, 8:00 pm CDT.)

TODAY’S LAUGH: On one side of my home office, I work on the serious business of writing and speaking, contracts and correspondence, bills and budgets. It’s efficient and (relatively) neat. The other side of my office is another story.

On the other side of the same office, I do art. That side of the room is a mixed media mess of paint and paper, clutter and chaos. DaHusband said as he maneuvered past the piles, “Your office is like a mullet - ‘business on one side and a party on the other’!”

He’s right. And I love it that way. The “real me” lives in this confluence of work and art and play and plans. Creativity is the over-arching theme.

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: Where in this world are you free to be the “real you”? We all need a space to call our own - and NOT the leftover space behind the furnace that nobody else wants. (Why is it that everyone else in the family has their own space but you, Mom?)

Claim your space. Fill it with the things you love, the things that lift your spirit.

My mullet of an office is my little corner of the world, where I connect with the One who put me here, so I can do what I’m here to do.

And this “Mickey Mouse Triple Self-Portrait” is my daily reminder. As he tries to paint his own portrait (click the pic for a closer look), he ends up drawing a picture of Walt. I want my creative efforts to reflect my Creator, too.

We all need space to connect with what’s real. Where’s yours? What’s in it? What do you find there? (I’d love to hear about it. Send me a picture and I’ll start an “Our Spaces” page. )

Claim your space in this world today, and encourage someone else to do the same. Be blessed!

TODAY’S LAUGH: When I told DaMaMa (she’s 94) I was going to write about her this week, she said, “Why? I’m not dead yet!” Some of you have met her at speaking events, where she was in the front row heckling me. Cute.

DaMaMa is one of ten children of Finnish immigrants (only two are left). She’s buried three husbands (she wants you to know that she didn’t kill any of them) and says, “I wonder if I’ll get married again…”(Oh boy–I might have a new daddy! He’d better have life insurance!)

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: DaMaMa’s a hundred pounds of what the Finns call “sisu” - this indomitable spirit that is independent, fierce and stubborn. And delightful to be around. She could choose to be bitter, to lament her losses. She could choose anger or fear or discouragement. But she doesn’t.

She chooses life and laughter. She laughs off her mistakes, refuses to bow to her pain, and considers herself blessed to still be here.

I brought her daffodils from my garden the other day and she acted like she’d never seen anything more beautiful in her life. Has she forgotten daffodils? It doesn’t matter. She chose in that moment to be delighted by them.

DaMaMa chooses to be a blessing, every day. I pray to do the same. How about you?

Bless your mama, wherever she is (or that special woman who’s been like a mama to you) today. Take Mr. T’s advice…

Pictures: #1 Enjoying ice cream at the park on July 4th
#2 Enjoying the flowers at brother David’s greenhouse
#3 Enjoying Aphia, one of her 20 great-grandchildren
#4 Enjoying a cup of coffee as only a Finn can.

(Hmm…there seems to be a theme here… Enjoy!)

P.S. I’d love to hear about your mama!

TODAY’S LAUGH: Have you “Googled” yourself lately? I did and boy, has “Mary Pierce” been busy! According to Google, I am a famous tennis player from France, a realtor in Michigan, an environmental specialist in Maine, a newspaper reporter in several cities and the recipient of several awards around the country (none of which was “Mother of the Year”).

What a woman I am. Or was - I’m officially dead in a couple of states. No wonder I’m so tired!

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: My famous tennis-playing Google Twin gets all the top spots–pages and pages–in the search engines. “Love makes you real,” claimed the Velveteen Rabbit, but in today’s world of book sales and internet presence, it seems it’s not love that makes you “real,” but Google!

No, no, no! my inner non-digital twin protests. I am MORE than my online profile, MORE than the hits on my blog, MORE than my website stats!

It’s easy to get caught up in what others say our value is, and it’s tempting to base our sense of well-being and worth on our job titles or sales results, our address or our good looks. Or for some of us (and our agents and publishers) our Amazon or Google rankings.

What really matters? The Rabbit had it right: love is the real thing. Those people we care about. Those who care about us. The personal connections we make.

See the love in your child’s eyes. Surprise your mate with a kiss. Laugh with a friend. Giggle with a grandchild. (That’s Megan & Justin.) Hug somebody (hands-on or a cyber-hug) and let them hug you back.

“Love one another…” and know that, in the final balance, that’s all that really matters.

Know that you are loved today. And pass it on!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE APRIL THANK YOU NINE-BOOK GIVEAWAY WINNERS: Joanne Kobussen, Janet Searl and Mary Lou Lowrance. Enjoy!