Sizing Yourself Up
A few years ago, I had the good fortune to visit the Statue of Liberty for the first time, and the better fortune to have a mindful tour guide. He pointed out how Lady Liberty is not merely holding up her torch, but thrusting it aloft. Most pictures of Liberty show her from the front, where this is not easily observable. Find a view of her right side to see what I mean.

I attended a church service last week where there was a recently-completed week of discussions and activity around homelessness. Many of us, myself included, were mostly just part of the lukewarm bunch who agreed with the idea, but for whatever reason, really didn't participate. Up in the sanctuary was a collage of different views, symbols, and signs of homelessness, which included a cutout of Liberty, from her right. My brain made a connection.

It was clear that I was a statue, holding up my lamp that said I agreed with shining brighter light on homelessness issues. What I did NOT have, however, was STATURE. The motivation to speak out with my actions, sleep in a box for a night, participate in a roundtable with members of the homeless community, attempt to break my stereotypes of drug-ridden panhandlers by attempting to greet a homeless person, or even, for goodness sake, engage my kids in a discussion about it.

So here's your daily dose of peace, one action at a time. Can you find the difference in your life between statue and stature? Realize that there's a difference between the Statue of Liberty and the Stature of Liberty.