The more life experience I have, the more I realize how precious it is to learn and grow. I deeply appreciate compassion, insight, and wisdom wherever I find it and hope to be an eternal learner. So, this page is my special place for quotes from people I admire, those who express ideas with extraordinary value, those who inspire and uplift me, and how I am learning from them. Maria Shriver is one of those people.
Maria Shriver 5/10/26 for Mother’s Day:
“I look around at our country right now, and I think it needs to be mothered. It needs to be held. It needs to be comforted. It needs to be emotionally regulated. It needs to be reassured that it can get back up and keep going. It needs to be reminded of everything it has done well, and everything it can do well again.”
Wow!
Recently (5/25/26), Maria Shriver wrote in her Sunday Paper Blog, that she was ruminating on who she was at this moment in time. I started to wonder how I would describe myself right now. She recommended rest and reflection to help find our inner guide. These thoughts are part of my reflection for this question: How and when do I make space to shine a light on what comes next? What is my purpose, my life’s work right now? I’m in a transition, gently letting go of the effort that has filled my days previously. What a surprise it was when my eyes welled up with tears as I watched Stephen Colbert sign off from his show. I cried and cried, filled with deep sadness at the end of an era I had treasured, saying goodbye to a TV friend who portrayed depth, wisdom, and compassion as well as good cheer and laughter. Maybe also saying goodbye to a time of my life that was familiar, comfortable, and was my companion for many years. It is time to open up, look inside, and choose a path, a purpose that fits who I am now.
Maria also talked about the circles of friendship, trust, and love that carry us. I feel such gratitude for good people in my life, who want to spend time with me, who I can trust and enjoy in different ways. This weekend, I spent time with two people who play different roles but that I truly treasure. I also had two people reach out whom I haven’t connected with for quite a while, to see how I was doing. What does it mean that they thought of me, about me, what might I have meant in their lives, what about their lives?
Maria’s prayer asked for “courage to live each precious moment with purpose, connection, gratitude, and grace”. That is the type of spiritual journey I want to have, the type of courage to speak my truth to me inside and to the world outside, to find a way to change the world, in a small and good way, that is lasting. She suggested that readers complete this sentence, “I do what I do because I want to live in a world where…”
My answer:
- love triumphs over hate
- compassion, caring, and power with (instead of over) others are prioritized
- fear and threat are combatted with knowledge and understanding
- where I may offer comfort, reassurance, positive feedback, and faith in goodness
- where I stand with people who deserve dignity, respect, and compassion and stand up for them when they need a friend/advocate/ ally
What does this mean day to day? Stay tuned for more blog posts…