This I Believe

As Brenda Holliday approached the age of 50, she began to see another woman in the mirror—her mother. As she started to recognize her mother's physical features in her own face, she came to believe that in more ways than one, she is her mother's daughter.

Some think love comes from the mind or the heart, but St. Louis teacher and poet John Samuel Tieman believes love is in the hands – such as the hands of a cherished spouse, or a talented craftsman. Tieman says we can find the sacred in the human touch.

Common objects can often evoke powerful memories. For Opal Ruth Prater, it was a shirt that belonged to her late husband. It reminded Prater of the beautiful life they shared, and how her love for him is as strong as ever – even 15 years after his death.

When Cherie Burbach was a young girl, she believed her father's cruel words defined her, and her only escape from his verbal assaults was to write about her emotions. Now, as an adult, she values her words over her father's, and she continues to write to express who she is.

Mohandas Gandhi believed that none of the world's religions had a monopoly on wisdom and that all of them were the same at their core. He was much more concerned with the actions we take in the service of one another, especially in the service of the poor and oppressed.

When Terri Maue's father was near his death, his family was at his side, asking what they could do for him. It was then that he uttered the words that have become a deep-seated belief for Ms. Maue.

As a parent of four grown sons, Judy Stokes remembers instilling in her children the basic values of life, such as “No hitting” and “Share your toys.” In reflecting on these earliest life lessons, Ms. Stokes believes we should all have the courage to live by those early values.

How often do you sing "Happy Birthday to You" to friends or family on their birthdays? Brian McDonald believes that the shared positive experience of singing this song not only honors your loved one but also has a deeper power to build community.

Like many of us, Lisa Dunlap had always heard the adage that it's better to give than to receive. But having been on the receiving end of many acts of kindness, Ms. Dunlap has come to believe that while it is indeed good to give, it's also good to receive.

Bill Reinert believes that making the effort to serve the people in our lives the best that we can is a rewarding practice, whether in business or at home.

As a daughter watches her father lovingly care for her ill mother, she knows the perfume he anoints her with is a powerful statement of his love.

There are many ways to look at any given situation in life. William Shutkin has thought a lot about these paradoxes in our lives and how we can either be paralyzed or energized by them.

With each pecan pie and batch of molasses cookies, Emily Echols hones the baking skills she learned from her elders. Ms. Echols believes baking is an expression of love for her family.

Jim Hale came to his love of poetry while reading Shakespeare at sea on a Navy destroyer. He believes we all need poetry, whether we find it in music lyrics or more traditional verse.

When citizens in Michael Seifert’s Texas border town couldn’t get respect from local elected officials, they didn’t get angry. They got organized. Seifert and his neighbors discovered that voting was the best tool they had to improve to their community.