Can you put a name to the last person who really got behind your busy, public veneer? Maybe that person made a comment or asked you a simple question that stopped you in your tracks.  Everyone needs moments of clarity when we have to soul search and reach farther than our pre-packaged, quick answers.

That’s what happened to me.  It only took one, key historical breakthrough to get me hooked on researching Hattie Sheldon’s life. At the Houghton Library at Harvard, a letter in her handwriting suddenly stared me in the face.  We might be separated by time, but she became real! And even though only a genetic thread connected us, I knew her inspiring life had lessons to teach me. 

Each subsequent discovery about Hattie’s work and values added the colors of love and commitment to her old black and white photo. Most surprising was that each finding posed actual questions – from her to me.  What principle is the essence of your character?  Hattie’s true story handed me opportunities to improve the way I lived, thought, and felt. 

 Are you making the best use of your gifts and your time?

Now that I have Hattie’s powerful standard for comparison, I’m going to work on that. I’m trying, Hattie.  I’m trying.