author. speaker. motivator.
Affectionately known as "America's #1 Success Coach," Jack Canfield is the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and a leading authority in the areas of self-esteem, achievement motivation, and peak performance. [www.jackcanfield.com]
political powerhouse. media mogul. author.
Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and Editor in Chief of the Huffington Post and the author of twelve books. [www.huffingtonpost.com]
author. speaker. linchpin.
Seth Godin is a prominent author, blogger and speaker. [www.squidoo.com/linchpin]
yogi. philanthropist. dynamic teacher.
Krishna Kaur is the founder of YOGA for Youth, a program that takes yoga, meditation, and stimulating discussions on the philosophy of yoga to urban youth. [www.yogaforyouth.org]
producer. philanthropist. tv legend.
Norman Lear has enjoyed a long career in television and film. He is also a political and social activist and philanthropist. [www.normanlear.com]
race car driver. activist. carbon free girl.
Leilani Münter is a professional race car driver and an environmental activist who uses her voice in the number one spectator sport in America as a catalyst for change. [www.leilanimunter.com]
Freedom Fighter. Philanthropist. Game Changer.
By going undercover to meet slaves and slaveholders, Kevin Bales exposed modern slavery's penetration into the global economy. He co-founded Free the Slaves, which has helped to liberate thousands of slaves. [www.freetheslaves.net]
mom. big dreamer. lady in red.
Sophie Chiche, lifebyme.com founder and curator, enjoys asking deep questions and living a life of meaning. Today she's launching Shape House, an urban sweat lodge, a place to melt away fears and fat. [www.shapehousela.com]
Writer. Entrepreneur. Daily Lover.
Entrepreneur and writer Mastin Kipp founded TheDailyLove.com, which merges pop culture with inspiration, and co-founded The Love Yourself Company, an apparel company that has started a global self-esteem movement. [www.TheDailyLove.com]
singer. musician. crier.
Liz Phair is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. [www.lizphair.com]
archbishop. author. peaceful leader.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is Chairman of The Elders, a group of world leaders who address some of the world's most pressing problems. He works energetically for human-rights and in his ministry. [www.tutu.org]
author. ceo. humanitarian.
Zainab Salbi is the founder and CEO of Women for Women International, a group dedicated to helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives. [www.womenforwomen.org]
speaker. psychotherapist. life embracer.
Despite his physical challenges, Sean Stephenson has taken a stand for a quality of life that has inspired millions of people around the world. He's a professional speaker, psychotherapist, and author. [www.timetostand.com]
yogi. meditator. teacher.
Kia Miller teaches Yoga at Yoga Works in Los Angeles, leads teacher trainings, and runs retreats and workshops on meditation, chakras, pranayam, and mantras, and other practices. [www.kiamiller.com]
creator. writer. idea geek.
Simon Mainwaring is an ex-Nike/Wieden creative, former Worldwide Creative Director at Motorola/Ogilvy, branding/advertising writer, author/speaker/blogger, Australian, idea geek. [www.simonmainwaring.com]
Strategist. Writer. Life Coach.
Shannon Bindler is a style editor, life coach, and the co-founder of Get Up Girl, an empowerment company that inspires women to shine. [www.getupgirl.com]
Designer. Art Director. Passionate Creator.
Grammy-nominated art director/designer/photographer Mathieu Bitton has designed over 450 CDs and movie posters. He's a renowned collector of and authority on black films and their soundtracks. [www.candytangerine.com]
Agent. Producer. Photography Enthusiast.
Opus Reps founder and agent-producer Jorge Perez travels the world producing photo shoots with great photographers and celebrities. He's also very involved with Meals on Wheels in Los Angeles. www.opusreps.com
flight
William Henderson
bird-girl searcher. poetic papa. avery-catcher.
William Henderson lives outside Boston with his children. He blogs about love and other unexplainable forces, tweets about books and parenting, and rarely reads directions. He still wanders in cemeteries, and often gets lost. [www.hendersonhouseofcards.com]
My son, Avery, four going on 14, all slamming doors and defiance. Glimpses of his sweet-baby self, usually at night, when he should be in bed. Climbing on my back, wrapping his arms around my neck, and asking me if I know how much he loves me, and if I know he loves me more today than he did yesterday.
Love, when you’re four going on 14, something to which you can add and subtract. His arithmetic, a balance between reassurance and reassuring; the resulting sum, with its meaning, of the relationship between father and son.
Not long ago – or long ago, when every day is filled with battles and daredevil stunts and bruises in the shape of doorknobs and counter edges – Avery and I getting lost in cemeteries. We were hunting angels. Bird-girls, Avery called them. Most carved from granite, wings outstretched, hands clasped together. We’d go from bird-girl to bird-girl, and Avery, then two, would try to climb the angels. Somewhere, between ankle and wing, Avery would get scared and ask me to get him.
“Don’t let me fall, daddy,” he’d say.
“I’d never let you fall,” I told him.
There are several angels at Mount Auburn Cemetery and three in Concord, Massachusetts, near the home where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women. Some of the angels have missing feathers; other angels have scars where pieces have eroded over the years. One angel at Mount Auburn is missing her nose. I like how granite always feels cold.
Sometimes he stretched his arms away from his body and moved them up and down, mimicking flight.
“Two hands, Daddy,” Avery said. “Hold Avery’s hands with two hands.”
Now, four going on 14, no longer interested in cemeteries. “Kind of creepy, daddy,” he says. I don’t think he really knows the meaning of the word creepy.
He, on my back, arms wrapped around my neck. “Do you know how much I love you?” I ask him, and he, still on my back, twisting his body so that our foreheads and eyelashes kiss.
“This much,” Avery says, stretching his arms wide.
“No,” I say. “This much.”
I stretch my arms, which reach farther than Avery’s growing wingspan. He, on my back, teetering, aiming to keep his balance, sort of flying.
Moments – granite angels, cemetery gates, a boy in flight – becoming meaningful, after.
– William Henderson
Explore More Meaning
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grounded flyer. northrup team member. self-truster.
Kate Northrup created early financial freedom and spent 2011 exploring and teaching financial, emotional, and spiritual freedom. She co-created Team Northrup, a league of wellness entrepreneurs aligned with the work of her mother, Dr. Christiane Northrup. [www.teamnorthrup.com]
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bio-physician. pond builder. whole person.
Dr. Chris Johnstone is an author, bio-physician, and coach. He writes and teaches about resilience, happiness, and positive change. [www.chrisjohnstone.info]
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spiritual alarm clock. soul purpose hunter. visionary.
Sahra Renata is a mystic, artist, writer and poet, with an M.A in spiritual Philosophy and a Ph.D in metaphysics. Sahra has taught advanced metaphysics and mastery of the healing arts throughout Europe, the U.S., Australia and Mexico. [www.bookofsahra.com]
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music man. multi-platform artist. down hill skier.
Paul Inman is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, performer, poet, budding photographer and artist born and raised near Detroit, residing in Los Angeles. His performing name is Paul Inman's Delivery. [www.paulinman.net]
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hand model. artistic explorer. inner excavator.
Adele Uddo is a super hand model, but please don't judge a girl from the wrist down. She's also a writer, determined to contribute more to society than nice nail beds. [www.adeleuddo.com]
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speaker. author. parental philosopher.
Mike Riera, PhD, speaks and writes on the topic of understanding teenagers and children. [www.mikeriera.com]
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soul-full musician. self seeker.
Ifé Sanchez Mora is a Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter. Her latest album, "Fire Inside of Me," has received praise from NY Daily News, Billboard, and American Songwriter. [ifesanchezmora.com]
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event producer. interior designer. ambiance maker.
Shay Watson is the founder of Aesthetica Events, which designs and produces events all over the world. His acute aesthetic sense has also led him into the world of home design and décor. [www.aestheticaevents.com]
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