In his song Anthem, the late songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen sings “Ring the bells that still can ring; Forget your perfect offering; There is a crack, a crack in everything; That’s how the light gets in.” Every life has its cracks—some small, some medium, some large. Our challenge is coping with those cracks when they […]
This I Believe New England
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This I Believe New England – Helping Families
Here’s the news that no parent wants to hear: Your child has been diagnosed with a very serious, possibly life-threatening, illness. Those are the parenting moments when time seems to freeze in what feels like an alternate reality. Those are the moments when parents think, “Is this really happening? To me? To us? To my child? How, in heaven’s name, is this […]
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This I Believe New England – Refugee Resettlement
It’s no secret that all of us have been exposed to a steady diet of bold, sometimes shrill and strident, news headlines – whether in print, on the air, or online – about refugee and immigration policy in the United States and abroad. Debate and rhetoric in so many quarters seem to have reached a boiling […]
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This I Believe New England – Beyond Our Coast
Rhode Islanders think of themselves as residents of the Ocean State for good reason. We’re surrounded. Maybe not literally surrounded at every border, but certainly by any objective measure water pervades our rich culture. The breathtaking Narragansett Bay. The majestic Atlantic Ocean. The more intimate Block Island Sound. The storied Blackstone, Seekonk, and Woonasquatucket Rivers. But how many of us are […]
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This I Believe New England – Addiction Recovery
It’s no secret that our community, our region, indeed our nation, are in the midst of a daunting opioid crisis. It seems that not a day goes by without disturbing headlines about the latest overdose tragedy. The statistics are sobering, even overwhelming. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that every day more than 130 people in […]
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This I Believe New England – Democracy
A relatively recent and compelling study sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Georgetown University’s Baker Center for Leadership & Governance found that only 40 percent of Americans are satisfied with our nation’s democracy. In another major study, Scottish political scientist Christopher Claassen found that support for democracy has declined in […]
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This I Believe New England – Paper and Pen
When’s the last time you took an actual pen to actual paper for a time-consuming writing task, as opposed to tapping your fingers rhythmically on your computer’s keyboard? For so many of us, writing our lofty prose or mundane work tasks in longhand, whether with an inexpensive ballpoint pen, a mechanical pencil, or a luxury fountain […]
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This I Believe New England – The Ring
All of us have talismen, those special objects that serve as an emotional ballast in our lives. Maybe it’s that special necklace that grandma bequeathed, the one-of-a-kind painting that used to hang in your parents’ bedroom and is now in yours, or perhaps that priceless photo of your precious children when they were toddlers. For so many […]
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This I Believe New England -The Uncertain Takeoff
So many moments in life call for courage and grit. Managing a bad medical diagnosis. Absorbing the unexpected news that you’ve just been laid off from the job you’ve loved for years. Having your romantic fantasies dashed by the startling text message informing you that your partner has decided it’s best to part ways. These are […]
