Discipline is the servant of inspiration.

As I grow older part of my emotional survival plan must be to actively seek inspiration instead of passively waiting for it to find me.

The music was as much a gift as sunshine, as rain, as any blessing ever prayed for.

Knowing who you are begins in the mind.

Once my loved one accepted the diagnosis, healing began for the entire family, but it took too long. It took years. Can't we, as a nation, begin to speed up that process? We need a national campaign to destigmatize mental illness, especially one targeted toward African Americans. The message must go on billboards and in radio and TV public service announcements. It must be preached from pulpits and discussed in community forums. It's not shameful to have a mental illness. Get treatment. Recovery is possible.

You live your life between your ears.

People of color, particularly African Americans, feel the stigma more keenly. In a race-conscious society, some don't want to be perceived as having yet another deficit.