Saturday's Songs for the Soul: The Bee Gees Barry Gibb: Saying Words "About the Sorrow"

Thought for the Day: Last week on CBS Sunday Morning I saw an interview of Barry Gibb, the last surviving member of the Bee Gees. As I watched I decided to share the video clip with you and chose one of the Bee Gee's hit songs as Saturday's Song for the Soul. We rarely get to see how famous people deal with their grief. Musicians, however, often take solace in their music and share the pain in words and lyrics. Music and performing at times becomes their therapy. In the video clip, Barry talks about the pain of dealing with the deaths of his brother Maurice in 2003 and Robin in 2012, His younger brother, Andy, died in 1988 after battling with depression and drug addiction. Till now, he had never performed without his brothers. His wife and their son were concerned that Barry was suffering from depression and encouraged him to start performing again. On the current tour he is accompanied by his son, Stephen, his niece, Samantha (Maurice's daughter), and photos of his brothers projected on the wall behind them. It is not easy, but performing again is a therapeutic journey for the rock legend. The 1996 recording of the song I picked for today has an eerie prophetic message in light of Barry's struggle with the loss of all his younger siblings. Clearly, "No one said a word about the sorrow."

Read on to hear the song and watch the video from last week's segment on CBS Sunday Morning.

#FF Friday's Fabulous Finds: Overcoming Disabilities, New Ways To Treat Poverty, Why Women Still Can't Have It all & More

Thought for the Day: I went to town this week and have many more posts than I usually do on Fridays. I started by finding some really fun interesting photos, quotes and a hilarious video demonstrating an age gap. Somehow, as much as I liked these finds, I felt there was not enough substance to the post. Then I hit the jackpot and found 4 wonderful articles. The cover story shows how a new device can help disabled children and their families enjoy activities they could never have accomplished before. Then I found a long, but insightful article on why women still can't have it all, but with solutions and ideas that may help improve women's and men's lives. (Unfortunately although the article shows up on my phone when I view the flipboard on my computer it is missing in action, so here's a link to this wonderful article by Princeton Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter.) Innovative approaches to the medical treatment of poverty are presented in the article on How Being Poor Makes You Sick. Finally, an interesting look at racism as seen (or not seen) by millennials. After the articles, there are some great quotes, photos & a video on the lighter side. Then the magazine folds into last week's Fabulous Finds, so that if you did not get a chance to check it out, you can simply keep looking. Let me know if you like this possibility & I will simply update the magazine each week by adding new finds. Have a great weekend!
     Here's the link to the entire magazine: http://flip.it/lTUHW

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom: Dr Barbara Lavi: If America Came to My Office, Here's the Diagnosis, Treatment Plan and Prognosis I would Give for Her Future

Thought for the Day: I had a very busy day yesterday & was unable to post. I am still giving a lot of thought to the issues I raised on Memorial Day Monday: What You Can Do If You Are Angry About the War Raging in Our Streets. If you missed my post please take a look, read, comment, share and take action. If you are tired of watching news reports of shooting rampages and loss of innocent lives in school, colleges, malls & cinemas followed by memorial services of distraught families and friends, it can give you some ideas of what to do.

Today's post is raising additional questions about the alarming rise in violence in our nation. After the fact, as we try to make sense of what has happened, the news media reports profiles of the shooters' lives and mental health histories. Books have been written to look for commonalities between the angry young men committing these horrible crimes. Since the rampages often end in the attackers committing suicide, if they are not killed by the police, much of the analysis is based on a kind of psychological autopsy and comments from teachers, family and friends about their troubles lives. In today's words of wisdom, I raise a different explanation which could lead to a different way of treating the issue and hopefully helping to prevent additional attacks.

"If America came to my office, my diagnosis would be PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). When we focus on the shooters most of whom are dead and cannot be treated, we may be missing the underlying causes and therefore, lose sight of potential preventative treatment options."

Read on to see why this hypothesis may help understand the significant rise in violence, depression, suicide and mass attacks...

Memorial Day Monday: What You Can Do If You Are Angry About the War Raging in Our Streets?

Thought for the Day: This Memorial Day weekend, I am angry and I need your help. Those of you following my blog know that I have been voicing my concerns and offering suggestions of ways to help prevent the senseless loss of life from gun violence in our country. In January of 2013, after the Sandy Hook Tragedy, I wrote a letter to President Obama outlining my concerns along with creative ways to implement educational and psychological programs nationwide. Sadly, the violence has continued since then. This Memorial Day weekend began with yet another attack at the University of California in Santa Barbara. I watched in horror and sadness as the details of senseless loss of life unfolded. Unfortunately, we are living with not only a war waged by terrorists against our nation, but we are also under attack from within by angry, hurt, young adults who feel marginalized and mistreated by society.

I was also saddened to learn that my grandmother's nephew,  Herb Crane, a World War II veteran, passed away at the age of 95 two days ago. He lived a full active life. He even drove to the gym daily while in hospice care. (The article was written and aired before he passed away.) I want everyone in our nation to have the opportunity to live their lives, like Herb, to the fullest without fear of violent attacks in schools, colleges, shopping malls or movie theaters. I need your help. If you are angry, like me, and want to be part of the solution, read on on to see how you can take action...

Sunday's Comic Strips: On Passive Aggressiveness, Fun With Disney, & Happiness

Thought for the Day: I found a few comics to share today. They come from Tumbler and Google Drive's Creative Commons images. The Disney photos obviously belong to Disney. I hope you enjoy them!

Bad guys in fairy tales come from diangelove on Tumblr, Passive aggressive on google Drive Creative Commons Images, He'll let me sleep  & What is Happiness 

Saturday's Songs for the Soul: "Dare You," Amy Purdy, Derek Hough Truly Dance With the Stars

Thought for the Day: I don't get to watch much TV, but caught the finals of ABC's Dancing With the Stars this week. I have danced all my life and enjoy catching the show when I can. Immediately, when I saw the awe inspiring performance by Amy Purdy and Derek Hough, I knew I had found this week's Song for the Soul. My book teaches people how to overcome all obstacles to reach your dreams. Amy's story is yet another example of how our mind and strong motivation can help beat the odds. I had not seen the rest of the season so I did not know Amy Purdy's backstory. At age 20, after contracting bacterial meningitis, she had both legs amputated below the knees. She was told she might never walk again. However, Amy was an avid snow boarder who was determined to return to the sport. She became a paralympic snowboarder. I have a saying, "When there is a dream there is a way."  Amy has also become an actress, co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports and spokesperson for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. She approached Dancing With the Stars with a similar determination to push herself to the limits. The song picked for her freestyle performance, "Dare You," reflects her ability to defy the odds and accomplish her dreams. If you view only one video this week, make it this one...

#FF Friday's Fabulous Finds: Dyslexia, Children's eBook App, Happiness, Travel Tips, Instagrandma, and 9/11

Click to go to this week's #FF Flipboard Magazine

Thought for the Day: This week's #FF Fabulous Finds  are another mixed bag of finds. Today's finds include new research on the causes and treatment of Dyslexia which offers hope to families helping children with the reading disorder. There is also an article about a newApp for Kids to encourage them to find and read e-books that look and feel like real books. Two articles offer suggestions of ways to improve your life and be happier. Since summer is coming, I've included a very long article to help you travel to exotic places around the world for $50 a day. The story on how Instagram is helping a an #Instagrandma who is dealing with cancer live life to the fullest is clearly inspiring. Finally with the opening of the 9/11 museum this week, I chose an article on how one daughter who lost her mother on 9/11 is using film to try to prevent tragedies like 9/11 from occurring again. Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!