23 April 2022 Connecting Now With Then

April 23, 2022April 23, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Health, history, Home, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hi there! It’s the weekend so make sure you don’t work too hard! Did you look outside yet today?

Hello to you. How are you doing today? It’s Saturday as I write to you and looking like it’s going to be a really nice day here. Sometimes I almost feel guilty to be so blessed with the life I have! Even with some of the things I’ve got going on, I’m so grateful for my life.

Yesterday I was curious what scripture there would be about clouds. Lately I’ve been asking questions like that so I will explore the Bible more. So that I can connect my current life and experiences to what is the past. It’s really kind of amazing how such ancient messages can still be relatable to life today. So yes, there are messages about clouds! Clouds have been around a loooong time! One place that I thought was really interesting to read about them was in Job 37:11-13 in particular:

¹¹He loads the clouds with moisture;^(U)
he scatters his lightning^(V) through them.^(W)
¹²At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.^(X)
¹³He brings the clouds to punish people,^(Y)
or to water his earth and show his love.^(Z)

Being able to access the Bible online has made finding answers to my inquiries really easy but it’s still nice to hold the words in my own hands.

Connecting my now to the understanding Biblical people of the past had about how God works in nature

Todays messages from A Woman’s Spirit are so good I want to share the whole thing with you:

To show great love for God and our neighbor, we need not do great things. – Mother Teresa

We don’t have to invent a cure for cancer or lift the burdens of a friend to prove our worth to other people. Being considerate of someone’s feelings is quite enough, and it is something any of us can do. It takes only a moment’s thought and the willingness to treat others as we’d like them to treat us. The real blessing is that we feel much better each time our heart guides our actions.

Loving others is perhaps the simplest of all actions we can take in this life. It requires no planning, no money, no muscle power, no problem solving. It’s a simple decision we can make daily or hourly. Every person we encounter, every situation we face, is an opportunity for us to hone the skill. And every loving act or thought makes the world a better place.

It’s human nature to treat others as we are treated. If each of us becomes willing to offer the hand of love to someone else today, we will indeed have done a great thing!

I can make a worthwhile contribution today. I can be kind to a stranger.

—————-

Now let’s go for a walk together……

This is that tree I was talking about that has leaves but as made these tiny red buds all over! It must take so much energy to do this!

Doesn’t the sun look amazing? I guess I got the angle just right so we can see the rays of light spoking out around it.

A street with my Grandma Becker’s name! I think of her whenever I see it!

A beautiful view of Carol street. Grandma would love this tree!

As you can see the street names are all ladies lol

Something interesting here. I was lucky to get this little one out and about and then later something weird – in my news feed were all kinds of articles about lady bugs! Coincidence or an algorithm picking up on the image on my phone?!

I loved seeing those two big trees by the waters edge….my eyes go aaaah when I see scenes like this one!

There have been lots of poofy healthy clouds lately. It’s interesting to see the layers of clouds. Sometimes I imagine angels traveling in a cloud ship sight seeing when I see hallelujah clouds like these.

https://nypost.com/2022/04/18/i-lost-92k-in-an-internet-dating-scam/amp/ – another cautionary tale about the hazards of online dating! I’ve pretty much given up on it. So many scammers online! I’m trying to let God be my dating coordinator!!

22 April 2022 Earth Day

April 22, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Home, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello! How are you today? It’s Friday here and Earth Day. I kind of think about holidays of this sort like this: “Why just a day?” For me every day belongs to the earth….without the earth there are no days. This morning I am thinking about the first garden and the first trees:

In Genesis 2:9 we learn about the tree of life and it’s purpose

Genesis 2:9New International Version

⁹The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees^(A) that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life^(B) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.^(C)

When I’m out walking around, as I’ve mentioned, I feel like I’m in a garden. Each tree is doing unique things to make it’s leaves. There is a tree that captured my attention and I shared with you that is now making tiny little red buds all over it even after making leaves. Some trees are still in the process of waking up of have no leaf buds at all yet. The purple flowers I’ve shared with you have spread to several yards….the two little wild pansies have become a whole cluster of them! In ever nook of earth “things are doing things!”

Last night before bed I was talking with God and as I spoke I realized I sound a lot like my Grandma Schmidt! I began to remember and think of her with so much love. She and my Grandpa taught me early on about nature and the connection of nature to knowing and loving God. She loved her garden and grew such amazing flowers! Big white Kennedy roses. I loved going camping with them. My Grandma Becker and I shared a love of trees. When we walked together she would show me her favorite trees who she thought of as friends. Each one expressing itself in a unique special way. I’m so grateful that the early people in my life taught me what a precious gift this earth is.

Everywhere I look I see intelligence….the wisdom of the master gardener of all creation. For me, each day I get to draw breath is earths day:

Every time I see these I think of the blue bonnets in Texas….I think of Sam. He was my little bumblebee. One time after he walked through a yard of blue bonnets, I later found one in our backyard!

I counted the rings, this one was about 8 years old before it was cut down….a baby in tree years

I mentioned to God that we hadn’t seen any blue flowers yet and the next day….blue!

This is howGod works with me lol – I thought there were just two wild pansies and God will say how about a whole bunch of them?!

Lots of tulips right now in various yards growing in many different spots

We got a little bit of rain again – I love seeing the sun peeking through the clouds

Smokey getting some time out on a walk – he goes a lot faster than Link does so not much time for pictures lol!

A Eden in our times – all the elements to life here

This part of our walk makes me think of where I used to go play as a child

Link is so patient with me and I with him. He likes to stroll which is great for when I want to get pictures

A couple messages from todays A Woman’s Spirit book:

In celebrating the good in me that was always there, I will continue to flourish. – Jill Clark

Improving a small part of me at a time isn’t too much work. Cultivating my assets in this way promises that today will be good.

Did you know:

The oldest LIVING tree is called “Methuselah” and is 4,765 years old. This tree is nearly 1,000 years older than any other bristlecone alive today. It lives in a secret location in the White Mountain range of eastern California. The oldest known tree named “Prometheus” was cut down in 1964 by a doctoral student.Feb 24, 2015

https://www.nps.gov › learn › nature

Great Basin Bristlecone Pine – Bryce Canyon – National Park Service

21 April 2022 When Is The Last Time You Fed Your Soul?

April 21, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Food, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you? Another late start for me. Last night I actually fell asleep but then Link and Smokey needed to go out…at 2 in the morning! Ugh!! I was able to get back to sleep off and on and actually have interesting dreams. I was with a lot of different people!

Yesterday morning I had the blessing of meeting a new friend for breakfast at the Sunrise. We got the chance to hear more of each other’s stories and talk about the goodness of God in our lives. She and I are both relatively new to Grace Bible Church in Middleton. We talked about a lot. She reminded me that if I truly believe who God is, I am not the labels this world has given me….my sin…my mistakes. I am his child and I am forgiven. With a loving God we don’t have to be defined by the world. She mentioned a very convicting question she was asked recently, “When is the last time you fed your soul? Or have you just been feeding the flesh?” Life in our modern world can seem overwhelming and chaotic. Especially with my friend trying to be a wife, mother to three rambunctious boys and so much more….. and still in all that “noise” of life take care of yourself…. feed your soul. I walked there and walked home and I was so sore lol but I made sure to write down that question so I could share it with you today. The other thing I wrote down feeling the pain of my body was, “my body is not a prison. My body is a temple.” The pain will pass…it always does.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20New International Version

¹⁹Do you not know that your bodies are temples^(A) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;^(B) ²⁰you were bought at a price.^(C)Therefore honor God with your bodies.^(D)

Yesterdays time really meant a lot to me. Meeting in person! Seeing her eyes change depending on what she was talking about – watching a little bit of the tired she carry’s in those eyes lift. Seeing her smile as she talked about what was on her heart. There is something about actual tangible moments like we had that no digital medium can ever replace. We fed our souls and our belly’s were contented by yet another wonderful Sunrise breakfast.

Here are some pictures. May be they will give you a moment of rest today. May be they will help you feed your soul. I encourage you to take that camera phone of yours on a walk…what miracle of creation will God show you?

One of a whole group of these. I think it’s a succulent.

I found these two little beauties hiding under a bush

When I got up from photographing the blooms I almost stepped on this little being. Jumping spiders are amazing to me. I’ve had some actually interact with me.

Where the lost puzzle pieces go….I had to smile when I found this. Thinking of people I love who enjoy puzzles. Putting together puzzles with my Mom on snow days when I was a kid.

Couldn’t zoom in closer but wanted you to see the ducks enjoying the canals.

I was looking for scripture about light and darkness and found this in John

“Ok much better! I’m tired from our walk but so happy! If you have to choose between being happy and sad I hope you will choose happy! Teeth aren’t just for chewing! Even we dogs know teeth are for smiling! “

20 April 2022 The Garden We Get To Live In

April 20, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? I’m doing ok. Feeling grateful for the little rains we’ve been getting. What is amazing is when I go for walks with Link. Everywhere my eyes rest on beauty. This is what you get to experience getting out walking where you live.

Yesterday I found myself thinking that I’m living in a garden – God’s garden. So many different plants, flowers, trees, birds, animals and insects…..everywhere you look life is happening! Now there are the canals with water that sparkle in the sun. Yesterday Link and I just stood and listened to the rushing waters. The more I focus on the wonders of God’s creation, the more I see! Beyond the buildings, moving vehicles and pavement- the flurry of our daily lives – there is evidence of an amazing God all around us. Look and see!

Psalm 8:3-6New International Version

³When I consider your heavens,^(A)
    the work of your fingers,^(B)
the moon and the stars,^(C)
    which you have set in place,
⁴what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?^[a]^(D)

⁵You have made them^[b] a little lower than the angels^[c]^(E)
and crowned them^[d] with glory and honor.^(F)
⁶You made them rulers^(G) over the works of your hands;^(H)
you put everything under their^[e] feet:^(I)

Pictures from yesterday:

I’m like a bee when I go by this tree lol

“You can learn a lot from us dogs. Slow down, take a nap if your tired and stay in the “now” – quit worrying so much. You are eruff!”

Happiness is mine today. It’s as close as the expression of my gratitude. – A Woman’s Spirit

Whenever I hear this song I think of standing in my driveway in base housing in Florida. The moon was full and I was waiting to be with who would become my husband. He introduced me to the voice of Chris:

https://youtu.be/tLrz0vMOhU4. – Audioslave The Last Remaining Light

Roll me on your frozen fields
Break my bones to watch them heal
Drown me in your thirsty veins
Where I’ll watch and I’ll wait
And pray for the rain

Curl like smoke and breath again
Down your throat inside your ribs
Through your spine in every nerve
Where I watch and I wait and yield to the hurt

And if you don’t believe
The sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light

Seven moons and seven suns
Heaven waits for those who run
Down your winter and
Underneath your waves
Where you watch and you wait
And pray for the day

And if you don’t believe the sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light

And if you don’t believe the sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light
Light
Light
Light

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Brad Wilk / Chris Cornell / Timothy Commerford / Tom Morello

The Last Remaining Light lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Wixen Music Publishing

19 April 2022 Surprises on Walks

April 19, 2022April 19, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Food, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you doing? I didn’t do a video for Twitch again today. It’s been about a week. I just haven’t felt up to it. It’s been hard to convince myself to get out of bed lately! I just hurt!

I was doing some surfing yesterday about joint pain and arthritis connected to having Covid. Turns out it’s indeed a thing! I’m really starting to believe what I’ve been going through is post Covid related stuff. Here is a link to one of the videos I found where a man and his wife have been experiencing joint pain after Covid: https://youtu.be/fyR9uJHCdKA – if you are experiencing inflammation and pain in your joints, like for me it’s my upper thighs and knees, this video might resonate with you. I am hoping it will eventually stop!

Despite the pain, I’ve been trying to get out for walks with Link. It’s so rewarding when I do! So much to see! There have been surprises lately too! This morning I looked down for just one minute and was amazed to see not one but two wild pansies in the edge of a yard we were passing! I struggled to get down to take the picture…..getting up made me curse gravity a bit lol….but it was worth it!

A lovely surprise for us today on the morning walk- a wild pansy!

Other pictures from yesterday and today:

The tulips are out here in Idaho – when I see them I think of my Mom. She used to grow flowers like tulips

I noticed this yesterday in the shopping center on our walk

This beauty caught my eye even with being surrounded by so many power lines

Part of what makes each tree an individual is their bark – I love seeing trees in afternoon light

This little one made me think of a cat we used to see all the time in Alvarado TX! Love the mustache!

A blue version of the car I used to drive in Sr. High School! Mine was red. I’ll never forget Dad and I practicing stick shift in a parking lot lol!

Ridleys is the grocery store I always go to. I told the cashier I was so grateful she was there (they seem a little short handed), that I was grateful to wake up to peace and quiet and that there was food in the store…..little things people in warring parts of the world aren’t experiencing today. We are so fortunate!

My day will be dark only if I shut out the light f my Higher Power. Through my faith and my friends I can know peace – A Woman’s Spirit

https://youtu.be/bFeNjMjk0dA – Toni Cornell singing Nothing Compares 2 U in honor of her Dad Chris. Her eyes are so sad to me. This was the first song Kyle and I listened to (the Sinead O’Conner version) after we said goodbye to our sweet dog Sam. It’s hard for me to listen to for that reason but I toughed it out to hear both Chris and now Toni’s interpretation of it. She did her Dad proud I think!

18 April 2022 It Will Be Enough

April 18, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you doing in your where and when? I’m getting a really late start. It took a lot of coaxing to get up today. Last night was another battle of trying to sleep. The lower part of my body has been experiencing a lot of pain and trying to sleep through that pain can be difficult.

What came to me is thinking about old dogs like my Sam and older people in my life both living and passed on. They didn’t complain about their aches and pains. The message of “it’s not what you can’t do but what you can do” came to my mind. I realized I could do some cleaning up this morning – it hurt but I did it!

When Sam and I used to go for walks without Kyle in Delaware he did something with me that he didn’t do when the three of us would walk. He occasionally would just stop, sit down and look at me with those eyes…”can we stop for a minute? I need a rest…” he seemed to say. Getting older in all our forms kind of forces us to slow down even though inside we want to go like we are still 20 year olds! Today I will remind myself that it’s ok when I am hurting. I will focus on the things I am capable of still doing even though I’m feeling this way – not focus on all the things I can’t do.

Matthew 26:41New International Version

⁴¹“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.^(A) The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is about approaching life with gentleness:

Our own gentleness is a powerful force in our lives. It is like the gentle flower that grows through granite. – Patricia Hoolihan

We are attracted to women and men who have cultivated a gentle spirit. Their softness nurtured all of us who come into their space. We are soothed and made whole by their caring spirit. Let’s allow our caring spirit to develop too.

The aggression we may have grown accustomed to in our families and neighborhoods need not claim us for all time. We have the power within us to chart a new course. We have examples of gentleness all around us; they are our guides and are here by divine appointment.

Whatever task we are destined to perform in this clean and sober life can best be accomplished if directed by a heart that cares. Being gentle promises each of us the same comfort it offers others. Each gentle act heals our heart and lovingly nurtured the future.

Being gentle today is much easier than being mean-spirited. My gentle side will nurture my inner child and remove my fears.

————————-

Pictures from yesterdays adventures:

12 April 2022 Choosing the Light

April 12, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, books, drawing, Leading Life by Example, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1453816904

The first part of this, 9:2 really resonated with me today.

Hello to you how are you today? It got windy and cold here again! It will be warm again soon enough. I am feeling kind of tired today. Getting restful sleep has been hit and miss. Sleep seems to be one of those things many of us struggle with. Oh to be able to sleep like we did as kids!

The message from A Woman’s Spirit today talks about taking responsibility for our part in what happens in our lives:

Taking responsibility for the part I play in the cause of my problems frees me to do something about them. -Kathy McGraw

We used to love to blame other people for the burdens in our lives. That someone else was to blame for our personal upset was as obvious to us as rain splashing against the windshield. Yet the longer we looked at others rather than at ourselves, the more stuck we became in old behavior.

We’ve since come to understand that we simply cannot grow, we cannot harvest the fruits of this recovery program, unless we develop a willingness to take responsibility for who we are at every instant of our lives. As we begin taking responsibility for our actions, we feel empowered. We realize that we are who we have chosen to be. And we will be who we decide we want to be. As that reality permeates our consciousness, we will begin to know that our hopes can become real, because the promises in the Big Book are real.

I will feel strengthened by claiming responsibility for all that I am today. Before taking action, I can pause and consider whether I will feel good about my choice.

————————-

What kind of choices are you making today? From what part of you are you deciding to take action?

Thinking about my Dad. He brought me this shell after a business trip to New York many years ago. You can still hear the ocean.

I love taking pictures of the sun in the clouds. It’s like a brilliant eye peering down at me wherever I go

A purple flower that I hadn’t seen yet this spring

I’m excited to see this – soon my favorite type of flowers will arrive (roses)

10 April 2022 Sometimes We Have To Look Down

April 10, 2022April 11, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. Hope you are well today. Yesterday was a mostly ok good day. My Aunt and I joined some really special women for breakfast at Grace House. It’s the first time I’ve been in there since we did cleaning and setting up inside of it. It felt so good to meet in a place that felt like a home. Going places with my Aunt is like that. She brings home to a house. It was a blessing to share a moment with her and these women who love God. Emily gave a devotional and I think this is the passage she referenced. She was thinking of her Dad and saying this brought tears to her eyes and to ours:

2 Timothy 1:7New King James Version

⁷For ^(A)God has not given us a spirit of fear, ^(B)but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

On the walk last night I had one of those experiences that you pray you do it right. I had stopped to admire my favorite Willow tree like I usually do. I looked up into her flowing mane of green and then looked down…..I was dismayed at what I saw laying there. It was a dead baby squirrel. I stood there for a moment in sadness and wondering what I should do. Do I leave the body there? Then I saw a little girl in the window watching me. I took one of the bags I use to pick up after Link, and it took forever to get it open, and picked up the little body and put it in the bag. The little one hadn’t been dead long. Then Link and I walked home. I dug a hole in the yard and buried the little one. It made me think of Emily who lost her Dad. It made me wonder if that little squirrels Mom would miss her baby. It made me think of my own life….how one day my body will be a shell….return to the earth. I kept talking to God about it, thinking about that little girl watching what I was doing. My head is usually in the clouds but sometimes you have to look down. Be reminded of some of the hardest lessons God teaches- those about life and death. I hope I got it right.

Morning with my Aunt:

My Aunt at Grace House – the mat is a perfect message about the feeling of the place

Pictures from walks yesterday:

A tiny reminder underneath the rocks of how precious and fragile this life is. We all belong to God all creatures great and small.

6 April 2022 A Tangible World

April 6, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, books, Food, Home, Leading Life by Example, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 6 April 2022 Wednesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1448162389

Hello to you. How are you? I hope you are well. Today I got out of my comfort zone and went to a Middleton Woman’s Group. They had their first meeting at our local bakery called The Rustic Oven. All of the ladies were recent transplants from various parts of California like the Bay Area. It was interesting to hear the different reasons they left California. For some it was the politics and others stuff like the fires. It was a nice first meeting. I went from interacting purely in the digital world to interacting in the tangible world. I got out of my comfort zone!

I had an orange roll here was really yummy. Got a chance to meet some nice ladies!

Today there was a good message in A Woman’s Spirit:

We can say yes to life even at its darkest moments if we can see it as part of the greater reality. – Mary Norton Gordon

We glimpse only the opportunities that bear our name during any experience. We have heard many times in this program that we are never given more than we can handle. We can trust that this is true. We have also heard that God tells us only what we need to know right now; the rest will come to us when we are ready, when the time is right. That too we can count on as truth.

It goes without saying, then, that every moments experience is part of the bigger design for our lives, a design that always has a positive outcome. If we feel scared or confused by the changes in our lives, it’s only because we have forgotten that God is in charge of the plan for our lives. We can say yes and be at peace.

I know that what comes to me today is a tiny part of God’s big plan for my life. I am not alone.

———————-

Some pictures from my walks yesterday and this morning:

Matthew 19:14New International Version

¹⁴Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs^(A) to such as these.”^(B)

4 April 2022 What Do You Want?

April 4, 2022 by saymber, posted in Animal Rights, animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 4 April 2022 Monday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1446211091

Hello to you. How are you today? I hope this finds you well….rested? Are you getting enough rest? I myself am struggling with that. What’s frustrating is as I am getting older I have to rest more frequently than I used to! I don’t know how it is for you but sometimes it feels like the body betrays us leaving us feeling powerless!

My thoughts today are about the question I ask myself and others, “what do you want?” The context of the question is about the world we live in. Your immediate world that you experience each day. Who and what are you giving your personal power to?

What do you want to see more of in the world you live in? Where do you focus most of your mind, body and souls energy? Who and what gets most of your personal power?

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of videos on You tube from animal shelters and rescue agencies. They are finding and rescuing dogs that have been shot and left to die. One dog was shot while she was pregnant. Other dogs covered in oil, left in landfills and dumpsters…old dogs abandoned on a street, sick dogs left to wander. For a time I have been wondering if focusing my attention on such things is giving power to that stuff happening in the first place! I have asked God before if there were no rescue agencies and shelters would this horrible stuff still be happening? The answer is most likely yes and these animals would just suffer.

People take their powerlessness out on each other through horrific abuse and they take it out on animals. Where do people learn to be and do such horrible things? A lot of times they themselves were victims….they were taught and learned that acts of violence were the way to deal with difficult emotions and situations. The chain of this behavior has to be broken. Is that possible? Are we like some breeds of dogs born with a predisposition for certain behaviors? Is it in our DNA? If the right things happen that those violent tendencies in our code get activated?

What do I want? I want to see less activation of the genetic codes in people that make some aspects of this existence so horrible. We need to teach people at a very early age how to deal with difficult emotions and situations so that they don’t take all of that ugly out on the world around them…innocent animals and children.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence – I think this subject should be taught in school

Emotional intelligence (EI) is most often defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. People with high emotional intelligence can recognize their own emotions and those of others, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, and adjust emotions to adapt to environments.^[1] Although the term first appeared in 1964,^[2] it gained popularity in the 1995 best-selling book Emotional Intelligence, written by science journalist Daniel Goleman. Goleman defined EI as the array of skills and characteristics that drive leadership performance.^[3]