I was just watching Oprah and she had a woman on the show who had been making a good deal of money in corporate america. She was feeling unfulfilled in her life. She started volunteering at local group homes (foster homes) and reading books to the kids at night. Once night she realized that when she was through reading the kids were told to go to bed...however they never changed into pajamas. She recalled her own fond memories of her childhood where her mother would read to hear and then have her get into her cozy and comforting pj's. She felt heartbroken that the children had not pajamas to wear. She began asking everyone she knew if they would donate new pajamas for the children in foster care. She had already raised 85,000 pairs of new pajamas when she made it on the Oprah show and guests of the show greeted her with almost 34,000 more.  The simple gift of a comfortable pair of pajamas for a child who has little to no other comforts in their lives was a welcomed and thoughtful gift. The show brought tears to my eyes. It made me feel greatful for the work I do and the lives I have an opportunity to touch through my work, especially the work I do with youth. You see, I have been given the opportunity to work with young men, ages 17-19, who are incarcerated. At first I did not know how to think about or how to approach the situation. After beginning my work with these young men, mostly gang members who also suffered from addiction issues and traumatic pasts I began to realize that these young men had never had anyone reach out to them. They had never had anyone to teach them that there was a different way to live. I began to do individual therapy with the boys and also began a parenting group for the boys who had children already or children on the way. I provided psychoeducation on pregnancy, child development stages and the basics of how to care for children, even how to play with children. I felt that if I could somehow reach them as parents that maybe a change of thought process would then filter down into their families as well as to their children. It is now my responsibility to take what I now know and put my knowledge into inspired action. I am beginning an organization that will help these young men and by extension, hopefully their children. However, there is still so much more I can do and so many other people who are in need of help. I challenge you today to think of ways that you can give back. How can you help someone today? Can you collect food and bring it to a shelter? Can you serve soup at a soup kitchen? Can you offer your professional assistance to shelters such as domestic violence shelters where they work to train women in various vocations in order to re-enter society? What talents do you have that you can share with others, as a gift? I would love to hear your thoughts.
 "Be the change you want to see in the world." Ghandi

• Get on a schedule
• Establish an early bedtime for the children
• Hire a babysitter and have a date night once per week
• Find a fun activity to do with your husband

Inside of us all we know there is a person we were meant to be, our authentic self. However, this authentic self gets lost as we assume various roles in our life. We surrender to responsibility, obligation, societal pressures and forced morality. We are known to outside observers as mother, wife, small business owner, student, friend, daughter or a variety of other labels. None of which, on its own, fully describe who we are. We go through each day as a responsible woman doing what is expected of us. We wear many hats and are jugglers of our own time and commitments. We are multitaskers by nature and have mastered the art of attempting to be all things to all people. In the midst of all of this juggling however have we lost ourselves? While we are so busy tasking care of everyone else are we taking care of ourselves? After all we are women and for all that we do for others, and for ourselves, we deserve a little time out, a break from the to do lists and expectations. We all deserve some time to nurture ourselves and to once again reacquaint ourselves with our authentic self.

What exactly does it mean to be ones own authentic self? Have you ever asked yourself, "what would I do if no one was looking?" Interesting question for most. In that one moment where you would not be judged by another and there was no possibility of anyone viewing your actions and no consequences, what would you do? Would you take a chance to love someone? Would you lie or would you finally be honest? Would you steal or would you find a way to help another? Would you go to the nail salon instead of doing the laundry? Would you curl up on the couch with a good book or a comforting movie instead of writing that proposal that is due tomorrow? Would you ditch your life of responsibility for a life of selling straw hats on the beach in Maui? None of these possibilities are either good or bad, positive or negative. If we understand who we are, our core being, our true authentic self, then we can begin to live a life of honesty.

So I ask you, how are you living your life? Are you striving for authenticity or are you consumed with false niceties and facades?

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