Gardening has taught me so many lessons in life.

I want to give you some quotes from famous people regarding gardening:

I think the true gardener, the older he grows, should more and more develop a humble, grateful and uncertain spirit. – Reginald Farrer

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all, it teaches entire trust. – Gertrude Jekyll

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. – Greek proverb

Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. – May Sarton

Introduction

We are one week into fall. As a result, the weather is changing. It is getting darker earlier. The leaves are changing color. In conclusion, it is time to start pruning the garden.

I have been a city boy for most of my life. Therefore, buying a home with a garden was an experience in itself.

We moved in the summer when the flowers and everything in the garden was blooming. However, little did I realize the work involved in maintaining it.

The first year I noticed the grass on my lawn going brown. A neighbor told me he sensed it would be white grubs.  Grubs are larvae of beetles and attack the roots of turfgrass.

Since the home was barely new, the builder had put the sod on the original mud rather than a thick layer of topsoil. As I drove around the hood, the best grass was that which was growing on a thick layer of topsoil.

I took the easy route. I went to a construction site. They were offering free topsoil. It was a weed-infested. Guess what no grass showed up but weeds.

Last year I ordered a whole truck of topsoil. I ordered the best grass seeds. For three weeks in September, I mixed the seed and the topsoil. The lawn looks the best in years.

Lessons learned

We need to build our lives on a solid base. Character is important. Discipline will take us through the hard times.

To have a great garden you must have patience, a nurturing spirit, and a willingness to sweat. Nature provides the sun we provide the water, fertilizer, and hard work. To have a career or to excel in anything, you have to work hard.

To see a small seed become a sprout, a plant, and then a tree that gives fruits and flowers is so encouraging. In the same way to see your project, your kids, or a friendship blossom into something is going to be encouraging.

The garden will go through a cycle. Life has its trials and tribulations. There will be things beyond our control. Mother Nature is a formidable foe when she wishes to be. Drought, wind, insects are some of the challenges. Better to approach an uncertain world with an open mind. Stay flexible.

In the backyard, we had a big sumac tree. What was the couple thinking planting in the backyard? I found out the hard way. About 20 feet away from the tree, shoots started coming. It was destroying my grass. Sumac is an aggressive plant and can take over a garden. It took me a whole month to cut the tree and its roots. Keep aggressive, toxic, and nosy people at a distance.

I love perennials. They show up every year. Make sure you have friends like that. As Debbie battled cancer it was the loyal friends who showed up.

Annuals are planted every year. They look beautiful for a reason and for a specific season. Sometimes, we have people like that in our lives only for a short time, for a season, and for a reason.

The garden hose has many choices; focused, mist, spray. We need to encourage a million times, love a billion times, and rebuke but rarely.

Pruning is very important for the plants and at the right time. When we focus on the simple and the practical, life turns around. We embrace change and allow our lives and hearts to grow. Change is a constant factor in our lives.

Flowers and plants that grow in the desert and in a milder climate cannot be grown here. Different soils, ph. levels, weather patterns all have an impact. All our five fingers are different. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. Focus on those and have fun. Comparing yourself to someone else will lead to disaster. Accept the fact the world is unfair and monetize skills differently.

I do not grow fruits or vegetables. My mother-in-law grows them. Potatoes and carrots teach what you do not see matters. Pass on the glitz, glamour, volatility, and the unpredictable in your life.

The result of the garden is the choices you make. People can be flowers in your garden or weeds. Pluck the weeds to let everything grow.

You need a bunch of garden tools. Axes, carts, cords, fork, footwear, hoes, rake, spades, shovel, trellis are some of the tools to be efficient. Education along with practical sense, humility, gentleness, kindness, patience, unconditional love, and emotional intelligence goes a long way in being successful in real life and in the workplace.

We can never be experts in every field. Ask for advice read books. Learn from other people’s mistakes. Go ahead and blossom where you are planted.

These are some of the life lessons I have learned from gardening.

The post Life Lessons From Gardening appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Last year, I was hurting. Ok, Jerry, the truth is you were hurting very badly.

Debbie was going through chemo, Jean was looking for a job, and I was facing unemployment. A year later, Debbie is in remission, Jean has two job offers, and I am enjoying my full-time job from home. Such is life. As Debbie lay in bed, for 4 days in a row after chemo, I would hold her hand and cling to hope. Slowly, I would get cynical. WHY ME? I am hurting. I need help.

Being a caretaker for nearly two years to someone going through cancer was emotionally, mentally, financially, and psychologically challenging. I had to make it through. Life still had to be lived, and the bills had to be paid.

I was hurting. However, it was the unconditional love, support, charity, service, and compassion of countless friends, family, and neighbors that helped me pull through.

How are you dealing with Covid? Hang in there, we will make it through. I am an emotional wreck. I am weak mentally, physically, spiritually, and psychologically. YET! I made it through. I honestly felt like someone was carrying me through the whole ordeal. I was hurting, and I knew it. I got help. I took care of myself.

Pastor Natalie has come to realize that we must take pauses, or we are just experiencing life passing us by quickly! Every day, there are several moments we can perhaps all talk about and be an encouragement to someone else. I talked to Pastor Natalie about some of the very issues I faced last year, and she answered with grace, love, compassion, and empathy. If you are hurting, this interview provides you with some of the answers.

Natalie, welcome. Tell me something important and unique about you? 

Hello Jerry, thank you for this opportunity. There are a few things I can say that is unique to me. First, I was born and raised in New York and currently live in Central Florida. I have a great passion for bringing encouragement to others. I have had the honor of helping others in my community and worldwide virtually. It is important to me that I have left an encouraging print everywhere I go and the things I do.

As a writer, I have a blog where I bring every day encouraging moments to my readers. I believe there are several moments taking place in our lives and we must pause and take moments to enjoy and reflect on daily.

Currently, I also co-pastor alongside my husband overseeing operations at a non-profit organization called, Resplendency. We have been able especially during these trying times to support our local health care heroes, work with another organization to bring food to families in need and just bring support and encouragement to as many as we could. I have had the honor of hosting annual Women’s Conferences both in-person and online. I also have been honored to have several opportunities to be a guest speaker and writer.

In 2020, I was facing unemployment, my wife was diagnosed with cancer and a trip I was looking forward to got canceled. However, I clung to hope. Talk to me about hope. What is it? Why should we cling to it? 

Jerry, first I want to say that I am very sorry that you and your wife have had to face some serious times of testing. Disappointments and overwhelming moments in life can bring discouragement but I am so happy that you clung to hope. Hope brings an acceptance of what is happening. It provides an expectant end.

Hope carries a sense that things will change. It brings assurance that ‘it will not always be this way.’ Clinging to hope is so important because without it you can live in despair and dread. Without hope, you will deal with so many emotions that can bombard you that you can become overwhelmed with no sense of a future. 

In clinging to hope, cynicism can creep in. How can we keep cynicism from creeping into our life? 

You are so correct you can become cynical without hope. There is something about turning your heart toward hope that sustains you in ways of change that can take place at any moment. As I said earlier, without hope there is a sense things can never get better. Despair and hopelessness can take hold of our hearts. With that said, to avoid becoming cynical it’s important to pause and reflect where you are and take in what you know to be true and what you see as possibilities ahead that can bring about change.  You may need to talk to someone and be honest about your feelings and be open to their voice in your life.

With that said, I believe that it is in these moments it’s vital to turn our hearts toward God and not away from Him. You learn to live by faith when you live in hope. With hope, there is this sense that, ‘I can go beyond what I see.’ It is a great time to open your heart to God.

Talk to me about a time in your life where you were facing challenges and how did you overcome them? 

For me, this is honestly a loaded question because unfortunately there are several challenges I have had to face over the years that I had to overcome physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, and spiritually. It was during these times where I faced the fact that I either both believed God was real and trusted His plans and purposes through it all or I did not. One particular moment that stands out to me that I will share will be when I was facing a serious illness and had to have surgery. I believed that I would be healed and would not need surgery and yet God had other plans. I had to have the surgery and it was very trying to know I had to walk through this because I know nothing is too hard for God. What I learned is that when we pray for anything and everything, we must remember, “NOT our will, but God’s WILL be done.” I have come to the place with an assurance in my heart that, ‘Father God knows best’ and I can trust Him to bring me all the way through it. I came close to death as a result of this illness and had to walk through very trying moments but I did not lose hope, rather I gained a deeper sense of assurance of how close God really is to each of us and never leaves us alone. On my let’s take a moment blog I recently began writing about my health journey.

Are hope and optimism the same? Why? 

I believe they can be viewed as similar. However, hope in my opinion stems from a place of faith (a reliance upon something bigger outside of ourselves). It is an assurance and confidence that comes because you make the choice to believe in God. Where optimism is more of an outlook that brings hope. To me, a negative mindset will not experience either hope or optimism. To that person, it will seem like nothing can change and everything is always horrible.

In your opinion what does the world need in 2021? Walk me through what it is and how we can use it to make a difference in other people’s lives? 

This is a heavy question and I believe the world needs hope in 2021. There are so many uncertainties with all that each of us has had to face that without hope there really does not seem like anything can change. I see it as everything has been ‘shaken up. This is a great time to reflect on life and make some important decisions first spiritually, then everything else. It is an important time to pay attention to where our hearts are. There needs to be true repentance and forgiveness. There needs to be honesty and continued discussions about where we are and how we can move forward in the right changes. This must include everyone. I see it as a great time to reset your heart, mind, soul, and spirit before God.

I want to know how motherhood and marriage have changed you? 

I believe I have learned how important it is to remain humble and dependent on God in my relationship with my husband and with my children. My marriage would not have lasted if we both did not learn the importance of honesty, humility, and understanding.  To me, the most important for us both is communication with one another. I have learned the importance of denying yourself for others on a whole new level both as a wife and mother. As a mother, I have learned how important it is to pay attention to each child you have and recognize their individuality. It has taught me to be even more understanding and genuinely loving.

What does love your neighbor mean? Why is it so important right now? 

We are living in a world where “It’s ALL about me!” No one else matters. But to love your neighbor genuinely is of the utmost importance right now. You cannot say you want to change in your life and the world around you if you do not even know how to love others. You really cannot even talk about loving God with all your heart, if you do not know how to love others who are different than yourself. Thinking of more than ourselves and doing for others without the intention of what you can get in return, to me, means ‘loving your neighbor.’

As I get older I realize accepting my brokenness, forgiveness, and having compassion for other people has really helped me keep cynicism away. Please comment? 

People will let you down, disappoint you, and even cause serious pain. It really is up to us how we respond. You are right the older you get; you get to a place where you recognize that these things will happen but you do NOT have to allow it to make you something you are not. It is important to choose to forgive even when not asked for forgiveness and make an important choice NOT to keep a record of wrongs. Unforgiveness locks us up. So be intentional to forgive quickly so that you will avoid becoming cynical. 

Help me understand what men can do to make the lives of women in our lives better? 

I can honestly share a lot on this topic but I will try to say just a few things. One is to be attentive to their needs. Women are constantly communicating in a variety of ways, not only in speech but in action. So, pay attention. Another would be to make her feel safe in your presence. This again stems from paying attention to her feelings and the environment. Sometimes, your perspective can be very different from hers so pay attention to body language as much as verbal queues. Don’t feel you always have to respond; be a really good listener. Remember to make sure she knows she is being heard, not by just ‘yessing’ her but answering as you are talking about any topic.

Many people in my audience are hurting. Give them hope?

I want to first say that I am very sorry about all those hurting right now in your audience.  I want to encourage you that without hope there feels like nothing can ever change. I would say you can have hope right now. Things can turn around. Change is possible. I would invite you to pray with me and ask Jesus to come into your life, your heart, your situation right now. Gain a peace that passes natural understanding and begin to rest in all that He can do for you as you put your trust in Him. Let him show you where you need healing and forgiveness and allow Him to do so. It is a gift that we can come to Him just the way we are and we can gain hope because of all that He did on the cross for us.

I would love the opportunity to pray for anyone who would want prayer. I honestly know that God brings hope where there is despair. He brings purpose to our hearts and reassurance that things can change.

The post Hurting To Hope appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

What is the meaning of life?

I have known Mayple Dorrington since I started my career at Scotia Bank. Mayple was Director, Communications and Change Management at Scotia Bank.  Mayple recently wrote a book called Finding: The Oasis in my Soul. It is a journal, an encouraging journey through the spectrum of real-life experiences of trials and triumphs. As you read her book, you can relate to it. You will see a reflection of your own experiences. The book asks some relevant questions about having an empty void within us, do we have doubts about our gifts, weaknesses,  our purpose, and our identity?

I am a big fan of gratitude, and this book challenges my thinking to transform my mind and to get a deeper conviction of love and purpose in my life. If you are struggling with insecurity, fear, uncertainty, or anxiety, get the book, become empowered, lead an authentic life, and transform yourself into what you are intended to be.  This is the first of a two-part interview.

Mayple, a true honor to have you talk to four columns. Tell my audience a little bit about you?

Jerry, firstly I want to thank you for the opportunity to participate in your blog. I’m deeply honored to be having this dialogue with you and your audience.

Born on the beautiful island of Jamaica I grew up in a happy, loving family cushioned in a viable business environment.   The business became a casualty following the aftermath of the 1970s economic downturn in my country and the outcome later triggered my family’s immigration to another beautiful country, Canada. With a business mindset, I later pursued that area of study and embarked on an amazing career in the financial industry that spanned 3 continents with direct access to over 27 countries.  Alongside my banking occupation of choice, I am an author and a motivational speaker.  My professional designations include an economist, chartered banker, high school teacher and a personal financial planner.

I am a devout Christian who anchored my beliefs, decisions, and hope in the power of the risen Jesus Christ.  With my teaching discipline, I constantly volunteer my skills for mentoring and coaching and by my mentees’ own admission, I have the knack to identify, develop and empower countless persons in reaching their personal goals.

Having said that, my passion is primarily centered around the relationships I forged working with people drawn from across the globe and living in the most multicultural city in the world. Through these experiences, I learned how to coexist with people, understand their behaviors, outlook, and preferences, and dispense greater tolerance, acceptance, and compassion in helping others. An area that keeps me growing is to intentionally embrace the power of mindfulness. This awareness constantly provokes and inspires me to challenge my mind, peel away layers of obscurity, to look deeper and wider for insights toward the path in finding truths.

Finding: The oasis in my soul. It is an intense name for a book. How did the book come about? What is the main message? Who is the audience? What is unique and different about the message?  

Jerry, there’s lots to unpack here… yes,  the name is indeed intense. You may notice I deliberately said “Finding” and not “Find” or “Found” because it’s a journey, not a destination. My book chronicles an inspiring journey through the lens of my real-life experiences of trials and triumphs and using what I have been through to come to a place of what I now know for sure.

Strangely the genesis of my book was drawn from my wanderlust nature.  Traveling to many countries, living amongst diverse nationalities, and conversing with numerous people from different walks of life, age, and outlook; hearing their stories, the many dreams realized, the hardships overcame, and bouncing back from mistakes, I realized how much we all have in common.

I wrote the book to expose our human commonality and to express how I cultivate the power to confront and stare down the debilitating state of uncertainty, worry, and fear.  How like myself, we can overcome our shortcomings and elevate our talents and self-worth to be the best.

During my speaking engagements, after sharing my story, which is often intertwined with slices from the lives of many others, seeing the visceral reaction of agreement from my diverse audience, I validated how we all want to feel valued, loved, and accepted. The main point is to have a positive self-image of not who I am, but who God intended me to be.  How I claim truth and confidence from the backdrop of biblical examples of trust, faith, and obedience.  Each chapter illustrates a meaningful life experience, which is brutally frank about what I learned, the impact of the practical application, and my spiritual transformation. Each reader will walk away with valuable nuggets to build their confidence and self-worth.

My core objective and the key message are to challenge the readers’ thinking and arouse a sense of gratitude, wonder, and introspection, allowing us to draw from an ever-renewing Oasis where we can replace worry, fear, and doubt with the joyful assurance of God’s promises and faithfulness.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive that this is exactly the response it evokes. I painted a graphic picture of my experiences, whether illness, a hero to zero career moves, friendship betrayal, family choices, to be transformed, to come to a place of rest, not a place of stop, but resting on the dependence and assurance of God’s love while seeking new adventures to spread my wings.  The overarching message may not be unique or different, but it’s worth reinforcing to keep us building self-awareness on how we can draw inspiration and hope from seemingly common encounters and events in our lives. It about seeing and acknowledging God’s love and handiwork in all aspects of our lives.

Explain to me what does women’s empowerment means to you?    

Empowerment is about acting on my own volition, having options, having the autonomy to make choices.  Really, Jerry, it’s to emancipate me from the sense of powerlessness, to become self-determined, being able to take charge of my life by owning my decisions, circumstances, hopes, and dreams, growing stronger, wiser, and more confident.

Having said that, for me, I do not believe women’s empowerment is independent of the influence of men. I strongly believe men and women were created with different, but complementary traits. When working in unity, we unleash the freedom to both look outward, naturally curious in opening ourselves to the universe, feeling supported to take risks, and to reimagine possibilities based on the imagery of how to think, rather than the limitation of what to think.

I have countless examples of gender neutrality during brainstorming, problem-solving, and trouble-shooting that delivered the optimum results, mainly because women are allowed the latitude, civility, and respect to explore and articulate their thoughts without judgment or fear. This type of liberation allows me to embrace and benefit from a diversity of thoughts; to see ideas from various points of view, despite differences reaching common ground, by filtering everything through what is pleasing to God. Why, because like all good things, true and authentic empowerment comes from honoring the will of God.

I am a big fan of being authentic and leading a transparent life. Help me understand what you mean by living an authentic life?    

Yes, Jerry, authentic and transparent are two buzz words presently tossed around a lot! Irrespective of the scholarly definition, at the core, this is about living one’s truth, what we know for sure, which can be shaped by our many experiences.

For me, it is when my values and beliefs are compatible with the integrity of my doctrine, actions, and words. It’s about self-awareness, knowing myself at a deep level, accepting my multi-faceted traits, my strengths, and imperfections; having the desire to continuously grow as I reconcile my good, bad and ugly qualities, which are common to all of us. I find that oftentimes, with increasing societal pressure, we lean into what the world prescribed as a success.  Whether to gain wealth, fame, alter our appearance or job aspiration, we can compromise who we are created to be which often leads to self-loathing, and unhappiness.

To justify my point, let’s take a look at the billions in revenue generated from cosmetic industries, fake content, scamming, Ponzi schemes, and the like. You see, in our humanness, our hearts are deceitful, full of pride, and can easily trap us in a state of denial and falseness to elevate ourselves. I am not immune to this pretense, but growing in spiritual maturity and wisdom, I try to be deliberate in not allowing this malignant state to frighten or paralyze me, but to be powered by my dependence on the spirit God graciously places within us.  As I summon the courage to live from a place of acceptance, growth, humility, and inner peace, only then, I can be the best expression of myself, which will be evident to impact others as I attract, influence, and sustain meaningful relationships.

The post Mayple Dorrington: Finding the Meaning of Life appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Everything happens for a reason

I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve.

I asked for prosperity and God gave me brawn and brains to work.

I asked for courage and God gave me dangers to overcome.

I asked for patience and God placed me in situations where I was forced to wait.

I asked for love and God gave me troubled people to help.

I asked for favors and God gave me opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted, I received everything I needed.

My prayers have been answered.

It was the summer of 98. I was madly in love with three girls (so I thought).

In other words, one was in Paris. The other two were in Montreal and Calgary.

As a result, I had flown to Paris for two weeks to see where I stood. I made two trips to Montreal. The girl in Calgary I had loved for more than a decade.

The much-dreaded letter came from Paris. All written in French. She was not sure where she stood. Strike one. Two more to go. The response from Montreal was she was not sure. Strike two.

In conclusion, the Calgary one was it. I mean she was half-Indian. In addition, the other half was the bohemian Hungarian. We would be a couple. She came to Toronto for Christmas. We spent some time. I met her family. I finally told her. She knew I had loved her for nearly a decade. She dated two friends of mine. She left for Calgary with the intention of packing up and moving back to Toronto.

About two days later, I got a call at midnight. She had spoken to a friend who was a friend of an old ex and did not think it was a good idea.

Dead in the water. Back to square one.  Almighty, so you are trying to teach me something. Half of my life I have spent in the oven. Come on… I need a break.

Lo and behold, I meet Debbie in 99. We were friends. I teased her a lot. Even I tried to set her up with someone.

Someone asked me if I would be open to her.

I mean I am brown. She is white. Boring white. Throw some Latina names around. Give me someone who I can romance. It is supposed to be like in the movies.

Jerry. You do not get it. The girl is right under you. All your life you are chasing trophy women.

OK, OK, OK, OK. One date. One date and that is it. I will try one date and get it done with it. That first date happened in Jan 2000.

A quick Swiss Chalet lunch. In addition, it will all be over. I even wanted to cancel it. One of her friends said she was looking forward to it.

On a cold January Sunday. We went to the Swiss Chalet on Finch, opposite the Humbold Centre. I made some small talk. Cracked some dumb jokes. I dropped her home.

Her friend called and said how it went. Whatever, no feelings on my side. By the way, do you know any Latina girls? Jerry, she loved the date. She loved how you opened the doors for her. She loved how you paid attention to her.

My jaws dropped. There was nothing wrong with me. I was just chasing the wrong women. Our next date was for Valentine’s Day. A little risky move. Let me take a nice Hamilton girl to a Pakistani restaurant. A small dinghy greasy place. Surely, she will know. Who takes someone for Valentine’s Day to a greasy Pakistani restaurant? Me of course. I am trying to send the message…not interested.

It was one of the best dates. We laughed. She just loved the food.

Debbie worked opposite me at a law firm. We got along. She laughed at my dumb jokes. She appreciated me. All my pedigree meant nothing to her. She just cared for me. She just put up with my private school, only kid, arrogant attitude.

We were opposites in everything. Opposites do attract.

One date led to another and in the summer of 2000, I asked her to be my girlfriend.

Therefore, sparks need to happen. Heaven needs to separate. I was giving myself 6 months. The more I spent time with her; the more I realized this woman loved me unconditionally. In addition, there were no pretensions around her.

I called her on Christmas day. Her sister Dawn answered. This is Jerry on the other side. Your brother in law. Well, Dawn, Debbie is it. I just need to ask your dad’s permission.

In February of 2001, I took her parents to see the Wedding Planner. We had a good time. I called Doug later that week and asked him if I could marry his daughter.

Plans were to get a ring and do something extraordinary.

On the last Saturday of March, we drove to the Prince of Wales restaurant in Niagara on the Lake. After lunch, we went on a tour of Niagara in a helicopter. The pilot was told to just shut up and just let us talk. Thousands of feet above the falls, I posed the question. She said yes.

We came back to Toronto. Both of our families and her friends were waiting for dinner.

In September of 2001, we got married. We went to Portugal, Spain, and Morocco for our honeymoon.

Debbie has taught me gratitude, unconditional love, and forgiveness. She has taught me to see the pleasure in simple things. She has made me humble, gentle, patient, and not let the small things bother me.

Jean our 22 year old daughter makes us a complete family.

I look forward to being married for the next 100 years.

The post Everything Happens For a Reason appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Paula Novella is a blogger based in Melbourne, Australia. We catch up and talk about honesty, integrity, and what her blog is all about.

Paula, please share a little about yourself.

I am a 52-year-old who has been focused on living a healthy lifestyle for the last few years. I wrote my first story one year before I published it, but very happy I did!

What is your blog about? What is unique about it and who is your audience?

My blog is a health and well-being blog and I think what sets it apart is that I want to engage with my readers. I named the blog ‘shared stories’ because I want the blog to be interactive. A platform for everyone to ‘share’ their ‘story’ and for this reason my audience is everyone!

Why did you get into blogging?

I started blogging because I love to write and can’t believe how much ‘stuff’ I had in my head.

Talk to me about the city you live in? The food scene…restaurants and why we should visit it?

I live in Melbourne, Australia which is a great city with an abundance of nightlife, restaurants, and bars, not to mention the music scene available.

What does women empowerment mean to you?

Women’s empowerment is especially important because not all women are able to achieve without it.

Life is challenging. Help me understand something you have been through, what you learned from it and how you dealt with it?

My mother’s death when I was a young 19-year-old totally changed my life and I know that had she not left me when I was just starting my life I would be a totally different person to who I am today.

What are some values in life that you stick by?

I believe that integrity and honesty are two very important qualities in a person.  I try to live my life respecting everyone’s right to their opinions but try very hard to not let that get in their or my way of achieving goals.

How do you balance faith, food, finance, and family in the 21st century?

I believe that setting and working towards goals is very important and that balance in everything is the key.

The post Paula Novella: Honesty & Integrity appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.