In his novel A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway wrote “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” Of course, all of us face daunting challenges in life. As we hear from Cheryl Hatch, sometimes, sometimes, trauma indeed can strengthen us. Cheryl Hatch is president of the Women’s Education Initiative, a nonprofit organization that offers funding for women who […]
This I Believe New England
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Create Joy
Life is filled with all manner of challenges — some small, some medium, and then there are the ones we don’t like to think about. We do our best to cope, of course, with varying degrees of success. T.S. Eliot said, “If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Third Culture Kid
We’re living in a time when the concepts of culture and community have taken on new meaning, especially in the midst of intense national discourse about race, ethnicity, and diversity. Headlines swirl around us, pushing and pulling us into complex conversations about our place in this complicated world of ours. Taygan Yilmaz shares his wise […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Making Peace
Sadly, our world seems so filled with conflict. This is not new of course; history is littered with a painful collection of international, religious, political, and, yes, interpersonal strife. Don’t all of us want to feel hopeful in the midst of this discord? Let’s listen to John Minahan’s heartfelt yearnings. John Minahan teaches English and psychology […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Winter
Here we are, in the midst of yet another New England winter. For some, this stretch of months with early sunsets is filled with dread — frosty temperatures, snow piles to shovel, sluggish car engines, and ice patches to dodge. But for others of us, this wintry mix is the stuff of pure delight. Shimmering […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – The Health of the Planet
There is so much to worry about in our world today: political turmoil, civil unrest, a pandemic, climate change. The list goes on . . . and on and on. All of us want to be hopeful, of course, as we stare down all of these challenges. Let’s listen to Curt Spalding’s sanguine words, as he reflects on […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Health Care Heroes
Our nation’s history is replete with inspiring and poignant examples of self-sacrifice on behalf of the commonweal. Soldiers have marched off to both popular and unpopular wars. Civil rights activists have stood in the face of massive injustice. Countless volunteers rallied following Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. And, today, we are surrounded by legions of health care professionals and other […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Hope for 2021
For many of us, our recent transition to a new year was filled with a complicated mix of relief, sorrow, gratitude, and hopefulness about what lies ahead. For that we can thank COVID-19. Underneath it all, don’t all of us yearn to be hopeful? The poet Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote “Hope smiles from the threshold of the […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Look for Inspiration
There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has left so many of us feeling stuck with stay-at-home admonitions, frustrated by social- and physical-distancing protocols, and mired in sameness and more sameness. So many of us yearn for a break in the routines and precautions that have taken over our lives. DJ Johnson is here to implore […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Moments of Regret
Do any of our lives unfold without moments of regret? Dashed dreams. Intimate relationships that detoured unexpectedly. All manner of missed opportunities. For many, the aftermath is filled with deep remorse and, maybe, feelings of guilt. For some, these moments lead to a deep yearning for absolution, as we hear from Kevin Blanchard. Kevin Blanchard comes to us […]
