July 18,2025 I am reading Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong: Why We Love France but Not the French by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlaw. The authors are journalists from Canada, one French speaking and one English speaking. Nearly every page gives insights into the cultural and economic differences between France and the USA and Canada such as this one: “The French believe in equality, but they don’t embrace the lowest common denominator.” There is an important part of French cultural values around the idea of equality. The French are committed to the principle of equality, (Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite). The French form of equality emphasizes that everyone should be treated equally under the law, and that merit should determine access to opportunities, especially in education and public service. It doesn’t mean that everyone must be the same, or that society should be lowered to the simplest and least demanding “lowest common denomina...
June 2, 2025 A few days ago while I was getting in my steps by walking around the neighborhood I snapped a photo of some wild yellow flowers blooming among the leaves and tangled grasses on the side of the road. The image was natural and real, but I felt like the beauty of the flowers was not being fully seen. So I enhanced the photo. I did not add anything artificial to the photograph. I only removed the distractions, brought in more clarity and emphasized what mattered most. Here is the original image: Here is the enhanced image: In the edited photo, the yellow flowers are still in the same place. The leaves and grasses still frame the scene.. But now, your eyes go straight to the beauty. The light is more generous. The clutter is less visible. What’s important comes forw And isn’t that exactly what we try to do in our own lives? We don’t need to change the whole picture. We just need to see it differently. We can: - Let go of what pulls us away from our center - Foc...