WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK

No matter how much you try, sometimes you fail. The question is what you learned from that failure and how you will do it differently next time.

A veces no importa cuantas veces haces algo, igual puedes fracasar. La pregunta es que aprendiste de ese fracaso y que vas hacer diferente la proxima vez.

WHAT I AM GRATEFUL FOR

I have discovered talents I didn’t know I had.

He descubierto talentos que ni sabia que tenia.

What I learned this week:

We are all interconnected. If we only feel compassion only for those we like, we devalue humans who are not just like us. True love is unconditional.

The older I get, the more I realize what I really want is peace of mind, tranquility, inner joy and to give and receive unconditional love. What I do sometimes is the opposite. I want someone to “fix” my problems. I watch the news which loves conflict and controversy, I get anxious and I get mad at people too quickly. I have lots to learn don’t I? How about you?

What I am grateful for:

I am cancer free after two years and I plan to stay that way and do what I came here to do before I transition. There is a lot of work to be done.

I have incredible friends who love me unconditionally, even when I am utterly and totally IMPERFECT!

WHAT DO BIRTHDAYS (AGING) REALLY MEAN

I am no longer 20, 30, 40 or 50. I have been on the planet for longer than I could imagine. The fact is when you are too busy living, you don’t think much about your age. That is until others remind you how old you are. They can’t help themselves. They must sing Happy Birthday to you as part of a rite of passage. So I just keep passing and passing and the years go by and I am still at 30. I feel 30. I can’t tell my age. (Yes, I know I am not 30) I wonder if others can. I didn’t know what I was supposed to look like at this age. I didn’t know that my joints and muscles and other body parts would hurt or start hurting. I didn’t know much about menopause either.  All I knew is that I was not supposed to want to get here. In other words. AGE. Yes, it is part of life. We must AGE. Many women particularly worry about this.  We live in a world where women who are pretty, young and athletic are the ones who are popular and featured in the media. Those of us who are no longer considered those traits are supposed to worry.  We are getting older and our so-called knights in shining armor may no longer find us attractive, sexy or desirable.  This is the time many men leave their partners for younger women and “older” women have to start over.  But here is my question. Do I need to fight aging by worrying? Doing plastic or bariatric surgery? Using a different type of make up or clothes? Or do I just accept this is a process and I have to embrace it? I believe both are true. I have to accept it and I don’t believe I have to take all these drastic actions, but I must do something for myself. I must find what it is that brings me joy. What can challenge my brain? What will keep my body fit and what it is I am supposed to eat to stay young or younger.

What brings me joy is my work, so I am safe there. I love what I do. I always have and I always will. That’s half the battle since we spend most of our time in our jobs. Yes Ladies and Gentlemen. We spend 30 to 70 percent of our lives doing our jobs. I can’t imagine living my life hating my job. Some may say. I don’t have a job! That can be worse, though some people find hobbies that bring them joy and fulfillment.  If you are over 50 and you still hate your job, consider taking some career development or career planning courses. Read, “What Color is Your Parachute.” Do some soul searching. It is time. And don’t find excuses that you can’t because you have a family to feed. We all do. Everyone has responsibilities but what are you here for if you are miserable? What is the point of living if you can’t enjoy it? Changing careers or jobs does not mean you end up in the streets. It means you get out of your comfort zone and begin to look inside and out to find what makes you tick.

The second challenge is keeping my brain fit. This is a tough one. I tend to forget things. Don’t ask me why. Am I aging? ADD? Too busy? Too nuts to know? What do I do to avoid this? Learn new languages. For you, It might be taking a course in mechanics, or basket weaving or biology. It has to be something intellectually challenging. Not necessarily something you love and is easy for you. I remember my most challenging subject was economics so I ended up getting a degree in it. (I hate being bored, that’s probably why I have not had too many long-term relationships)

You have to do things that challenge you intellectually. If you watch Fox, begin watching John Stewart! If you watch MSNBC go watch fox!  Open your brain. Don’t get comfortable and don’t fall into routines. I only read such and such. I only watch such and such. BORING! That  WILL certainly help you age faster!!!

How to stay fit. That is also challenging. I made a decision that no matter where I am. I have to move. I don’t sit around. I can’t afford to. No excuses. I don’t need a gym. All I need is music and a desire to move. If there are stairs, I use them. If I park, I do it far away so I am forced to walk. When I am at home I either dance or do housework and just MOVE. I do some weights in between.  I do this every day. I also weigh myself every day. I just can’t let myself go. Staying thin and fit takes work.  There is no magic pill, exercise, and affirmation if you don’t do the work. Period.  Just do it!

Meditation is not for everyone the way we think of meditation, but if you breathe and think about it, you are in fact meditating. Prayer is a meditation. Walking can be a meditation. Being in nature can also serve as a meditation. I wake up every morning praying and I do the same before I go to bed. I don’t do it for my brain. I do it for my soul and because I love God and my soul needs to communicate with my master. I also do it because I am eternally grateful God has give me my life.

I can’t stop the fact that every year, people insist on singing me Happy Birthday and that there is a number attached to my age that changes. A lot of other things come along with my age, but I am not about to get upset about it. I choose to live my life fully with all the aches and pains and the joys and surprises, the challenges and the failures, the wrinkles and the disappointments. I choose life and that takes work. Keep singing me Happy Birthday. The day you stop, is the day I have to knock heaven’s door and hope they’ll let me in

What I am grateful for:
My belief in the power of prayer

What I learned this week:
I can choose what I think. By changing a negative mindset I can change my life.

I can do something about injustice in the world because I live in a powerful, generous and compassionate nation.

What I learned this week: I am not a victim. I can choose to be proactive to change the world.
that is why I joined this campaign to stop violence against women
Patricia Gras

http://nobelwomensinitiative.org/2011/09/stop-rape-and-gender-violence-in-conflict-join-the-campaign/?ref=192

What I am grateful for: I can choose to make a difference. I can choose hope over despair.

What I learned this week. I can do something to bring misery to an end by concentrating on what I can do instead of pointing fingers.

The stock market is on a roller coaster ride. People are dying of hunger in Somalia. There are riots in London. Climate disasters including tsunamis, earthquakes, floods and droughts are almost a weekly occurrence.  The economy is bad EVERYWHERE. Many CEO’s who bring their companies down get bonuses for their hard work and it appears politicians only care to win elections despite the horrible consequences of their actions or inaction. To top it all, it is hot!

Virtues such as ethics, integrity, compassion, tolerance, prudence seldom make the news. Many are suggesting we need a revolution. I say we need a “renewal.”

Americans have what it takes to take their country back from the greedy. They are everywhere….In government, corporations, institutions, neighborhoods.  It is time for those who believe in these virtues to stand up for what is right. WE need to believe in ourselves again. We need to be born again. We can’t keep pointing fingers at everyone else, because we need to start with (as Michael Jackson used to sing) the “man or woman in the mirror.” That’s you and me.

I can only share what I have done to live in peace despite the chaos surrounding everyday life.  I focus on improving my relationships. I keep an attitude of gratitude and I make every effort I can to be kinder, more understanding, more joyful and compassionate with the people around me.   Am I successful? Sometimes I am not. There are times I want to throw the towel and stop believing things will get better, or that people will wake up, or that the planet is not suffering.  I do know I have to be the change I want in the world. I want to be the peace I want in the world. I know this for certain, if I can’t find that within me,  I sure won’t find it elsewhere.  Think about it. You can make a difference. Start today.

SOCCER a metaphor for ATTITUDE AND LIFE

BY: PATRICA GRAS

(The USA Women’s Team 2011) Today I watched one of the most exciting soccer games I have ever seen in my life. I love mens soccer but this year I decided to watch the womens 2011 world cup in Germany. I found I liked how women play because they do it as a team. The game is also slower and you can appreciate the technical skills of the players. When men play it all goes by very fast and they hardly have time for the belo jogo or beautiful game. The United States was playing Brazil in the quarterfinals. The worlds greatest female player, Marta, leads Brazil. The Americans scored their first goal thanks to a Brazilian defensive players mistake. Then, the game got interesting. The referee, guilty perhaps she had not called a hand ball on the Americans and refusing to give the same player a card for her second foul, made the ultimate controversial decision by ejecting another American player in the penalty box for supposedly fouling Marta when she was about to score. That left the American team with only 10 players. The American goalie then blocked the penalty shot but the referee once again called it against the Americans and said she moved, therefore the kick would have to be taken again. The second time, Marta scored. At that point almost everyone in the stadium turned against the Brazilians. In sum, the referee had committed the ultimate sin. She had been obviously unfair to one team, trying to make up for her own shortcomings. The Americans did not spend one minute complaining. Instead, they played tighter, faster, meaner and more focused. The Brazilians scored again. Then 3 minutes before the game was to end a Brazilian player faked an injury or it appeared so for she wasted 3 minutes on the field and as soon as her stretcher crossed the line, she got up and acted as if nothing had happened, in other words she was running the clock. Then a pass by one player to the leading scorers in the American team, led to a heart -stopping goal that eventually would lead them the victory after penalty kicks. I have seen hundreds of games in my lifetime. I have been to three world cups and watched every one of them since I’ve had the chance, but this game made me realize the power of attitude in the soccer field, as a metaphor for life. Life is not often fair, no matter how hard you work, study, prepare. Your response however, will often determine the ultimate successful outcome. I get very angry when FIFA the governing board of world soccer refuses to use instant replay in games. I know they are corrupt and they find excuses not to do it. So if you have watched soccer long enough, the game is often left up to chance, luck and the referee. Many times, the outcome is totally unfair. You may have the best team, the one that played the hardest, the one that actually won, yet something happens that changes the result and everything you worked for does not pay off due to someone elses mistake or just sheer bad luck. The American womens attitude was. We have been wronged but we have no time to waste. We have a job to do and we can only do it as a team. We have to focus and play as smartly as we can. We are winners and we don’t give up just because we have been wronged. By the way, no matter how hard they tried and played and won, they also could have lost but win or lose, they taught us all a lesson. Your attitude will play a very important role in determining your outcome. That is why consistency, faith, hard work, integrity, teamwork and a laser focus on what you want will ultimately pay off. These women could have gotten angry, lost their concentration, focused on past wrongs, lashed back, hurt someone or themselves. Instead, they focused on their goal, Living Smart-ly! This is why I love soccer. I get reminded every day, no matter what the outcome is, you can choose to play with all those values in your head. In my book, that makes you a winner, not whether you lose or win.

What I learned this week: I play a major role in the challenges or problems I face with other people, therefore I take responsibility and if I don’t, sooner or later I have to deal with it.

What I am grateful for: One of my dear friends allowed me to have a healing conversation of few words with her the day before she died. We both knew she would pass but we both silently understood that it would be okay.

HEALING CONVERSATIONS
By Bianca Perez and Patricia Gras

We have all been in a situation when someone we love is going through a difficult time and finding the right words to comfort them seems downright impossible. What are we supposed to say to people with heavy hearts and minds or going through the “dark night of the soul?”

In the upcoming episode of “Living Smart with Patricia Gras” airing on July 3rd at 3pm, author and Emmy Award winning journalist, Nance Guilmartin guides us through the steps we should take to effectively communicate with someone going through difficult times.

Guilmartin says that truly listening is often better than having the perfect words to say. During her successful career as a journalist, Guilmartin found herself on both sides of the fence after losing loved ones and having friends who experienced grief themselves.  Guilmartin found that people’s best intentions are rarely successfully expressed when devastating events take place. She was then inspired to write her two books The Power of Pause and Healing Conversations: What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say.

As an educator, Guilmartin teaches her audiences that these powerful conversations are essential to the healing process, which is why they must be treated delicately. She says we become too obsessed with trying to fulfill what we think the person needs rather than actually listening to what the other has to say. Guilmartin says. It’s best to “So go in easy and first listen for what they might need or what they may not yet be ready to accept.  Be a friend, not a rescuer.”

The problem may very lie in our own definition of actually “listening.” According to Nance Guilmartin,“most people think listening is, ‘Well, I wasn’t saying anything.  I was listening.’  But of course your mind is rehearsing what you want to say and you’re having a reaction or an opinion or it’s not what you expected and so you’re in this whole mental mess.  So listening is to listen for what you don’t know.

Listening is only the first step of Guilmartin’s “Ten Principles of Healing Conversations.” The other principles include pausing, comforting, self-evaluation, preparedness, showing up, being resourceful, taking initiative, and showing compassion.

Likewise, Dr. Cecilia Sun, Assistant Director of the University of Houston’s Counseling and Psychological Services, holds listening to be of the utmost significance. “The best things to do,” she says, “are to listen, emphasize, and normalize. Many statements that are intended as encouragement end up minimizing or invalidating the other person’s experience.“

While grieving and depression generally passes with time, it is not uncommon for people to seek help from professionals to alleviate overwhelming emotions. However, we are often scared or hesitant to even recommend counseling to our loved ones. Most of the time, it is hard for us to decipher whether someone needs professional help or if the grief they are experiencing is normal. Dr. Sun offers that the first step is to recognize the signs and symptoms of distress which include, but are not limited to:

-complaining of sadness or crying more often
-being irritable on most days or having unexpected angry outbursts
-losing interest or pleasure in most activities
-avoiding friends, activities, school/work, social events
-increasing use of alcohol and/or drugs
-exhibiting severe behavior change, such as a quiet person becoming wild or active
-worrying or being unable to think of anything but the problem
-experiencing declining grades or other academic problems
-showing greatly increased energy, decreased need for sleep, euphoria, or manic behavior
-thinking or talking about death or dying.

In the event that such symptoms are present, she says it is best to “talk with your friend privately and allow time for the conversation. Express your concerns honestly in terms of what you have noticed in their behavior. Be caring and firm, not judgmental. Ask about your friend’s intentions directly and do not agree to keep his/her concerns a secret. Acknowledge the stigma some people associate with therapy services and emphasize help-seeking as a sign of strength.“

Regardless of what the situation may be, the best thing do is to be there for those we love during their trials and tribulations and participate in these difficult, but powerful conversations. As for ourselves, it is always important to surround ourselves with loving and supporting people who would do the same. We must also remember that there is never any shame in offering or asking for it. After all, time heals all wounds, but friends are an amazing way to expedite the process!

To learn more about healing conversations, watch “Living Smart with Patricia Gras” featuring Nance Guilmartin on Sunday, July 3rd at 3pm and then again on Friday, July 8th at 10pm.

You can also visit Nance Guilmartin’s website at:

http://www.healingconversations.com/

Emotionally Intelligent Marriages

By:  Lezlee Brinkman, Patricia Gras

Patti’s reflections:

What I learned this week: Although I support the institution of marriage, I knew enough about myself, not to get married.

What I am grateful for:  I am glad my parents loved each other enough to stay married and care for each other in their old age

This week’s blog features Dr. Donald Cole, licensed Marriage and Family Counselor, who will be featured on the Living Smart episode airing on Houston PBS June 26 at 3 pm and repeated on Friday,  July 1 at 10pm.  In this blog, we explore the issues of criticism, defensiveness, stonewalling, and contempt in marriage.

According to the Center of Disease Control, in 2010 the divorce rate has decreased from 44 percent to 41 percent for first time marriages, decreasing the overall rate of marriages for young adults between the ages of 25-34 by 10 percent.  Studies have shown that an increasing amount of people are electing instead to cohabitate without formally getting married.

Popular culture and the changing views of a new generation may be the reason behind a couple’s reticence to join together in holy matrimony.  It may also be that women are electing to wait until they have firmly established their careers before taking the plunge.  On the other hand, perhaps it is simply a matter of recognizing that both men and women are unprepared to do the work.  For those people who want to learn the techniques of how to have a successful and enduring marriage, there is help.

Dr. Donald Cole is a marriage counselor at the Center for Relationship Wellness in Houston, Texas. He and his wife are committed to helping couples save their marriages by using the Gottman method.

Dr. Gottman has been the nation’s foremost researcher in marriage and parenting for over thirty-five years.

“Back in the mid-‘90s, I began reading Dr. Gottman’s work, and it just resonated with me”, says Dr. Cole.

“What we’ve learned is it’s not so much about being a good communicator as being good at understanding and repairing our miscommunications”, says Dr. Cole.

Dr. Gottman and his wife Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman founded the Gottman Relationship Institute in Seattle, Washington.  At their center, the Gottman’s have outlined through their method the biggest pitfalls couples may encounter within their relationship.

“The methods that have grown out of the Gottman method seem to really be effective with the couples with whom I work, and that’s a lot of pleasure for me”, says Dr. Donald Cole.

The Gottman method, as known as the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, breaks down four of the most destructive cycles couples commonly find themselves.  The first attitude is criticism which is where person may launch an attack of their partner’s character instead of simply complaining about the real reason the person is bothered.  The second attitude or cycle is defensiveness.  Many times defensiveness is in reaction to the partner’s criticism of the other partner.  For example, someone might tell their partner, “You’re always late!  What’s wrong with you?”  Reflexively, the accused partner might get defensive and fire back, “Well, I might be late sometimes, but you never put gas in the car.”  This is a classic defensive move, according to the Gottman method to deflect and to change the subject.  The third attitude is stonewalling which is an emotional withdrawal from the conflict. Both men and women can be guilty of this tactic but it is found mostly commonly among men.

“The research does show that in heterosexual couples, men do the stonewalling about 85 percent of the time.  I think it does have something to do with the fact that men have a more active alarm system—generalized alarm system—where we’re the ones who tend to react to danger or threat more forcefully,” says Dr. Donald Cole.

Finally the last cycle that people may find themselves is contempt.  Contempt is in some ways according the Dr. Cole is “the most toxic of the Four.”

He explains that by the time a couple has reached this point they may be saying things like, “Why did I ever marry this person? I can’t believe I ever got involved with someone like you.”  By the time the marriage has reached this level Dr. Cole says, the marriage is in real trouble.

Dr. Cole discusses some solutions from the Gottman method that might help bring couples back from the edge.  First, couples could try gentle complaining which is where someone talks about what is upsetting them in terms of “I”.  “What I need or what I feel” are good starting points for a conversation.  Next is taking responsibility for ones actions instead of trying to shift the blame.  Third is self soothing.  This is often associated with stonewalling.  Many times the person may simply just need a few moments to themselves to catch their breath.

Dr. Cole says, “Outside they may be looking really calm or really stoic like and no feelings, but inside, they’re churning a great deal.”

Finally, creating a culture of fondness and admiration between one another is the key before allowing contempt to get too far.  “One way of thinking about this is the happy, successful couples—they seem to observe their partner to catch them doing something right—something that makes them feel good so they can talk about that,” says Dr. Cole.

Check out Dr. Donald Cole’s website at:

http://crwhouston.com/about.html

Check out Dr. John Gottman outline the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbJPaQY_1dc

Patti’s Reflections:

What I learned this week:
Everyone has skeletons in the closet so pointing fingers at others for their misdeeds is futile exercise, what we need to focus on in improving ourselves daily.

What I am grateful for
I recognize I am not perfect and yet have to love and embrace my imperfect self anyways.

Credit: Associated Press

The Wiener Effect
Sara Irvine and Patricia Gras

Another scandal, another week of wasting hours of airtime on celebrity culture. Why did he do it? Why do we care? Why did he lie? When will this be over? Do we want this man representing us in government?

Successful, powerful people can have empty emotional lifestyles. And they usually do. With traveling far from their loved ones, working long hours, and the constant pressure in the spotlight, their lives do not usually contain the emotional intimacy that is naturally needed by human beings. Is that why Wiener spent so much of his idle time twittering or communicating with women he didn’t know personally. Was he addicted to being online? (A very common problem we don’t care to admit, cause we are too busy twittering!)
Is this why many politicians have acted out their sexual behavior in more bizarre manners? New York Representative. Anthony Weiner’s recent social media sleazy scandal left the American public stunned but not surprised. Politician sex scandals blur somewhere between a reality show on MTV and real life. Just recently, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 10-year affair, New York Rep. Christopher Lee shirtless on Craigslist, and John Edward’s mistress have both shocked and entertained America. It seems as if the scandals are popping up like everyday news. Or is it that our media in its attempt to make more profits, focuses on the mysterious personal lives of celebrities?

According to sex addiction expert Robert Weiss, in his interview with Life Healing Center’s 4 Therapy, there is a particular type of personality that tends to be enticed by the spotlight. Weiss explains, “public figures are the type of people who need consistent attention and validation from others.” He goes on to say, “even though this is a perfectly normal trait to have as a human being, as these figures strive for their fame and recognition, they sacrifice the emotional support and affection they also need from those who are actually close to them as people.” And, when you’re a busy politician, sitting in an unfamiliar hotel room at the end of the day, exhausted, alone, and far from all loved ones– this scenario opens up a situation for distractions or addictions.

The wise words of a long-gone New York politician, and U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, do not seem relevant to some of our politicians anymore: “No man can lead a public career really worth leading…if he is himself vulnerable in his private character.” Do traits such as dignity or honor still exist? Even though our Founding Fathers are remembered with such dignity and honor, it makes one wonder if they too were involved with such similar scandals, maybe so, but perhaps they just didn’t have social media sites to catch them, or the mainstream media was covering real news and letting other media cover the personal lives or titillating stories of their leaders.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of Houston PBS.

http://www.life-healing.com
ahttp://www.cnn.com

What I am grateful for: People around the world work very hard to understand one another

What I learned this week: There is still a lot of ignorance about people of other races, religions and countries. We all need enlightment.

This week we’ll celebrate the End of Racial Discrimination, so you can watch our video on the Center for the Healing Of Racism with Cherry Steinwender. The 21st of March we celebrate the end of discrimination day. Take a look.

Question of the week Whether you are White, Black Native American etc. Have you ever been discriminated and what did you do about it?

Japan has been hit by the worst earthquake in its history.  If you want to help check this link.

http://www.refinery29.com/5-ways-to-help-japan-disaster-victims

Here is a search site to find missing persons in Japan.

Please spread out this.

http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/ (Japanese)

http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en (English)

http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=zh-CN (Chinese)

http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=ko (Korean)

This is comprehensive information from Columbia School of Journalism

A story on what may have caused the earthquakes in Japan, Chile and Haiti

http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Could+global+warming+causing+recent+earthquakes/4445492/story.html

On Lybia and the Middle East I found these updates

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/14/libya-middle-east-uprising-live-updates

Oil prices have lowered due to the Japan earthquake but experts believe it won’t last too long.

Watch our Documentary on Fuel for Thought: High Gas Prices and how the got that way. . www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcMVtICqNRA

During our pledge drive our local shows are on hiatus, but you can watch Brene Brown’s Living Smart look to the right of this blog.  Her national show Tired of Trying to Be Perfect? will air this Saturday
March 12 at 3 p.m. for The Gifts of Imperfection: Living with Courage, Compassion and Connection featuring Houston’s Dr. Brené Brown.

I will be live tomorrow night asking you to join Ch. 8  at 7pm during our airing of Celtic Thunder, one of my favorite groups.

The Libyan Uprising, which started on February 5 in response to Libyan’s distaste in Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year rule, has not only sparked more violent protests in the Middle East but a debate on what the future holds for United States oil prices. According to the New York Times, Libya holds the largest crude oil reserves in Africa and produces 2 percent of the world’s oil. While the U.S. produces 9.8 million barrels of its own crude oil a day most of its oil is imported from Libya, now U.S. money sales are going overseas lowering its trade deficit. The biggest problem common citizens are going to be seeing is an increase in gas station prices. Throughout the weeks, prices have been hovering around $3.16 a gallon costing most people $10 more than average. And U.S. oil prices increased to 7 percent at $2 of $100 a barrel in February. Yet, the overall price of crude oil has lowered $6.13 for April a CNN article  said. President Obama promises that we will make it through the disruption in oil, but the question we are all faced with is, do we believe him? What do you think about the oil price increase, and what do you think will happen to U.S. oil prices in the coming weeks?

Watch our Documentary on Fuel for Thought: High Gas Prices and how the got that way. . www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcMVtICqNRA

Differing Points of View  on Libya Uprising:

Gaddafi Vows to Fight to ‘Last Man and Woman’ as Loyal Force Battle Rebels

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/02/diplomats-nato-eu-mulling-libyan-fly-zone/

http://www.raghidadergham.com/

Libya Rebels Push Back Gadhafi’ Forces attack on oil port

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/2/gadhafi-vows-fight-last-man-libya/

Zawiya, Rebel-Held City Near Tripoli, Celebrates Battle Win

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/01/libya-protests-zawiya-re_n_829547.html

Deadly Fighting as Gaddhafi tries to retake rebel-held town

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/02/libya.conflict/index.html?hpt=T2

U.S. Mulling Military Options in Libya

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/02/libya.military.options/index.html?hpt=T2

Blog: The Limpet’s Legion

http://www.economist.com/blogs/clausewitz/2011/03/libya

Sources:

• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/24/AR2011022404720.html

• http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/21/markets/libya_oil_unrest/index.htm?hpt=T2
• http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/world/africa/22oil.html

What I am grateful for: I have true friends who despite my flaws, believe in me, support me and stick with me through thick and thin.

What I learned this week:  To take responsibility for my own actions, especially when I am wrong.

Question of the Week: If you had the power to change the world, what would you do?

Are you worried about gas prices?