The proper name for it is Atelophobia.

It is a fear of imperfection.

A person who has this condition is afraid of new situations or decisions because they don’t know how they will turn out.

So, they are risk averse.

I think a little caution before taking on something new is warranted.

But, we shouldn’t over do it.

My dad believed in the latin saying, “In medio stat veritas!”

From Aristotle, “In the middle stands the truth.”

He didn’t believe the truth wasn’t found in either extreme.

Think about it!

If not today, when?

Moral Courage is the willingness to stand up for and practice that which one considers ethical or correct behavior.

This is done even if it means going against countervailing pressure to do otherwise.

Moral courage is usually more difficult to practice than physical courage.

With the rampant use of social media, your children may find it difficult to practice moral courage.

This makes parenting much more challenging.

Current peer pressure to do the wrong thing is often exhibited by public officials today.

Yet, it is incumbent upon us, as parents and citizens, to practice moral courage!

If not today, when?

When Vash Chhabra started thinking about how to propose to his girlfriend, Riiya Shukla, his mind went straight to her favorite Bollywood films.

But instead of trying to create a complicated song-and-dance routine, he had another idea: THE AIRPORT.

Shukla, an Auckland native, lives in Melbourne, Australia, where she works for the Victoria state government. She and Chhabra, who still lives in New Zealand, have been in a long-distance relationship.

So Chhabra hatched a plan: he’d arrange for their loved ones to be at the Auckland Airport when Shukla arrived for a visit.

He would propose to Shukla via the airport announcement system!

Getting their loved ones on board for the big day was easy, but going through the layers of airport staff and protocol was a challenge.

He finally connected with Laura Platts, the Auckland Airport communications manager, that everything began to fall into place. (CNN)

Love conquers all!

(She said “YES!”)

Sometimes, it’s hard not to.

But, we all know the longer you persist in being upset, each day starts unhappy.

Should you allow something in your past become a drag on your future?

It’s possible that the offending party has moved on while you are stuck with your grudge

When you carry a grudge, it is like carrying a backpack all day, every day.

So, you wake up each morning with a self-imposed downer.

Be good to yourself. Leave the backpack behind, make ammends and get on with your life.

Life is too short to hold a grudge.

Give yourself the great, very positive day you deserve.

If not today, when?

The Strategy and Plan of Action acknowledges that hate speech has the potential to incite violence and undermine social unity. It recognizes that hate speech has been a precursor to atrocity crimes, including genocide, over the past 75 years.

This approach to coordinating efforts across the UN system to identify, prevent and confront hate speech is grounded in international human rights standards, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, principles of equality and non-discrimination, as well as other fundamental rights.

The Strategy aims to give the United Nations the room and the resources to address hate speech, which poses a threat to UN principles, values and programmes. It guides the UN system on how to address hate speech and includes ways to support United Nations Resident Coordinators’ action in addressing and countering hate speech on the ground.

The Strategy and Plan of Action has two overriding objectives:

Enhance UN efforts to address the root causes and drivers of hate speech in a coordinated way, with a focus on education as a preventive tool to raise awareness and build unity.

The UN intends to support a new generation of digital citizens, empowered to recognize, reject and stand up to hate speech in the digital age.

Below is the UN website to learn more:

https://www.un.org/en/hate-speech/un-strategy-and-plan-of-action-on-hate-speech

New YorkCNN — 

Extreme weather events are growing more common, while an increasingly globalized world means disasters on one side of the planet reverberate on the other.

In the midst of uncertainty, people are becoming more aware of personal emergency measures.

These incude equipment kits marketed and sold specifically for crisis situations.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends assembling a disaster supply kit as part of its “12 Ways to Prepare” guideline.

While some people choose to gather their own supplies, a number of retailers carry ready-made kits.

Are you prepared?

If not today, when?

Will you smile even if you don’t feel like it?

That’s called faking it.

I think we all have some current dilemma we are concerned about.

But, for the sake of not bothering someone with our problems, we PUT ON A HAPPY FACE!

The good news is that the smiles we project can help someone have a better day.

Our world really needs more smiles and fewer frowns!

“Spread sunshine all over the place and put on a happy face!”

If not today, when?

When you held your newborn baby or tiny toddler, you likely hoped for a life that was full of ease, fulfillment and happiness for your child.

As it turns out, that ease doesn’t lead to fulfillment or happiness.

A bit of failure often does.

That’s because challenges help kids develop coping skills and resilience, both of which make life much more enjoyable.

Kids don’t learn when life goes perfectly for them.

It’s like working out with 1-pound weights forever.

Sure, you’re exercising, but without tearing and rebuilding muscle, you’ll never get stronger. (CNN)

This is tough advice for parents, but very valuable!

You won’t be there every time your kids (young adults) take a fall.

They must learn that they CAN pick themselves up.

If not today, when?

The 2023 travel craze is not letting up for the upcoming Labor Day weekend in the US, travel experts warn.

“Travelers heading out of town over the long weekend should expect busy airports and long lines,” the travel app Hopper said in a news release.

AAA, the automotive and trip-planning group, said in a news release this week that Labor Day weekend travel will be up 4% over last year domestically, according to booking data.

That’s notable, but it’s the increase in international bookings for Labor Day weekend that’s jaw-dropping. Those bookings are up 44% over 2022.

It also noted that international cruise bookings are up 44% over last year and that international hotel bookings for the holiday are up 82% compared with 2022.

AAA said its findings show the top five international destinations over Labor Day weekend to be Vancouver, Rome, London, Dublin and Paris.

Hopper said the top three international destinations booked for Labor Day weekend off its site are San Juan, Toronto and Cancun. (CNN)

Wherever you travel abroad, it will be crowded.

(Melon Dash, Author of, “Conquer Your Fear Of Water.”)

A Gallup survey, published two years ago, found that across the globe, half of adults are afraid in water over their heads, and that’s just in pools.

A third of American adults are afraid to even put their heads underwater and half are afraid of going into the deep end of the pool.

Many of them will have had some sort of swimming instruction over the course of their lives.

Yet, over a decades-long career teaching swimming, one thing has become abundantly clear to me: Learning swim strokes doesn’t make people safe in deep water.

If you’re an adult who doesn’t know how to swim, you may have asked yourself,

“Why haven’t I been able to learn over the years? Is it me?”

I’ve taught swimming to thousands like you who are afraid in the water, and I can assure you — it’s not you.

For most people who don’t succeed in learning to swim, it’s not for lack of trying. 

If you are afraid in the water, there are classes available to help you.