When you need a reality check...

"I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains."

- Anne Frank (1929 -1944)

Anne Frank spent two years and 35 days in hiding.

During that time she was deprived of being able to see the sky, feel the rain, bask in the sun or walk on the grass.

With no friends to confide in, she wrote in her diary, “The nicest part is being able to write down all my thoughts and feelings, otherwise I’d absolutely suffocate".

Despite the trauma and struggles she endured, her perception of the world and humanity went beyond the confines of the four walls that surrounded her - nothing was able to take away her ability to hope and dream.

Reading snippets of her diary often gives me a good reality check. Here's a couple that gives me the tingles:

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."

"It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart."

Stay Peachy,

Sheryl Thai, CEO
League of Extraordinary Women