Writer, award-winning journalist and public historian. Lover of books and humanity.
Lafayette, LA
Joined March 2015
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Listening to Our Better Angels ruthanitafoote.com/listening… #ourbetterangels #personalgrowth #humanity (Originally published in September 2025)
If you listened to the recent news or social media, you could not help but hear the phrase Our Better Angels as a result of the turmoil in our nation. As the fate of the nation hung in balance in 1861, facing secession and civil war, President Abraham Lincoln said during his inaugural address: “The mystic chords of memory will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
Explaining exactly what our better angels means is a timely topic. I turned to ChatGPT for a condensed explanation, and AI provided invaluable and endearing words for us all:
Lincoln appealed to the nation’s shared humanity, urging people to let their nobler qualities guide their choices instead of succumbing to division and hostility. When we speak of our of our better angels today, we are calling upon the highest parts of ourselves—the voice of conscience, kindness, compassion, and wisdom—that remind us of our shared dignity and common good.
In times of conflict, fear, or uncertainty, it can be easy to let frustration or anger shape our responses. Yet our better angels whisper of patience when tempers flare, generosity when scarcity looms, and courage when despair threatens to take hold. They remind us that love is stronger than hate, unity stronger than division, and hope more enduring than fear.
Choosing to follow our better angels does not mean ignoring difficulties or pretending differences don’t exist. Instead, it means facing challenges with grace and striving for understanding, even when it isn’t easy. It means practicing empathy, extending forgiveness, and keeping faith that the light within us—and within others—can prevail.
This week, as we navigate uncertainty, may we pause and listen for that still, small voice of our better angels. They are always with us, urging us to rise above, to heal, and to create a world that reflects the very best of who we are.
We do not want our country to remain in turmoil, and that is why I've expanded what began as an email broadcast to my Ruth's Growth Circle subscribers for my Sunday's Weekly Inspiration, I decided to expand into a blog because the phrase and its history are endearing, and we want to ensure a country becomes stronger and more united.
I asked ChatGPT for recommendations on how we can become more like Our Better Angels in our business, career and personal life, and here's its response:
1. Lead with Integrity In business and career, integrity is the foundation of trust. Choosing honesty, even when shortcuts look easier, reflects your better angels. In personal life, it means keeping your word, honoring commitments, and aligning your actions with your values.
2. Practice Compassionate Listening Often, people don’t need quick fixes — they need to be heard. Whether with a colleague in conflict, a client under stress, or a family member struggling, listening with patience and empathy honors their humanity and opens the door to healing.
3. Choose Service Over Self-Interest Your better angels shine when you prioritize contributing to others. In business, this can be mentoring a younger professional or offering value beyond expectations. In personal life, it could mean volunteering, lending a hand, or simply being present for someone in need.
4. Respond, Don’t React Challenges will always arise. Reacting in anger or fear rarely builds bridges. Instead, pausing to respond thoughtfully allows your better angels to guide your words and actions. This practice can transform workplace tension, career setbacks, or even personal disagreements into opportunities for growth.
5. Nurture Hope and Positivity Hope is contagious. By keeping an optimistic outlook in the face of adversity, you inspire those around you to believe that better days are possible. In career and business, positivity fuels resilience; in personal life, it strengthens bonds and fosters joy.
What do we do next?
Please consider incorporating one or more of these recommendations into your life. And please feel free to share this blog with others or repost yourself, so that others can read it and understand the powerful history behind the President's words, Our Better Angels.
In closing, I'd like to share this quote from Luciano De Crescenzo: “We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.”
~ ~ ~
I’m Ruth Anita Foote, an award-winning journalist, historian, author, and online entrepreneur—passionate about helping you enhance your business, career, and lifestyle. Whether you need writing, editing, research, or online business development, I’m here to support your growth. My goal is to empower you to elevate your success and make a lasting impact in your field. You can connect to all my social media platforms through Linktr.ee
Resolve or Regret: Rethinking Your New Year Resolutions ruthanitafoote.com/resolve-o…
#mindfulness #personalgrowth #resolutions
Time, and time again, we decide this time we’re gonna beat time, and accomplish all of our New Year resolutions.
But in reality, we’re only setting ourselves up for failure—once more.
As we inch closer to each new year, we welcome it with hopefulness. Yet at the same time, our heart quickens, even tightens. We can’t help it.
Each year is not only the start of a new year—12 new months—to fulfill dreams even though we say goodbye to the old, and welcome new and endless possibilities.
But—each year is also indicative of what we have not accomplished in the past 12 months.
Did we reach our New Year resolutions, or did we saddle ourselves with more regret? And frustrations?
And this begs the question: Why do we make resolutions each year?
Where did this tradition even begin? According to ChatGPT, making resolutions dates back, way back, and that surprised me:
The practice of making pledges at the New Year dates back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylonians. During their 12-day festival Akitu, they made promises to gods to return debts and borrowed items, so the gods would look favorably on them in the coming year. The Romans later adopted a similar tradition. When Julius Caesar instituted January 1 as the start of the new year (in 46 B.C.), the Romans made promises to Janus, the two-faced god of beg
innings and endings (one face looks backward, one forward). In medieval Europe, Christians adapted the practice: making resolutions or vows for self-improvement or repentance at the turn of the year.
In 1671, the Scottish writer Anne Halkett recorded a set of “Resolutions” in her diary, using biblical pledges. The phrase “New Year resolution” appears in a Boston newspaper in 1813, showing the term was already in common usage by the early 19th century. Over the 20th and 21st centuries, resolutions increasingly shifted from religious or moral vows toward goals of self-improvement, health, career, finance, and personal development. (Among ChatGPT’s cited sources for this information are History.com, National Geographic, Wikipedia, Almanac, Merriam-Webster, becauseisaidiwould.org, and Customs House Museum & Cultural Center. )
As 2026 beckons, you can’t help but think about playing hooky this time around when it comes to resolutions. That way we’d have no regrets when the year ends, and the Times Square ball drops once more.
But—are resolutions necessary? Do they serve any valid purpose? Or can we resolve not to do them? Can we escape their blistering condemnation—and perhaps, even mockery?
Have a wonderful weekend with these memorable words, paying it forward from my friend RoxAnne! 💐 💜 🌻
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Enjoy my story in today's The Current of professionals performing Black Composers' classical music during a recital at Acadiana Center for the Arts at 5 pm Saturday...
Voices Erased No More... African American Heritage Foundation's 12th Annual Gala set for Feb. 28! 🖤❤️💚💛
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