Be Bella – Page 3 – Palmetto Bella Magazine

Be Open

“If we open our eyes, our minds and our hearts, we will find that this world is a magical place." ChÕgyam Trungpa The August issue of Bella magazine is the...

Little Miss Fired-Up

So, when will your reflection show who you are inside? It’s up to you. I remember when the movie Mulan was popular. There was a song the main character sang...

I’ll Die When I’m Done: Until Then I Live!

Around Father’s Day each year, I take some time to reflect deeply. It was in the early morning hours of Father’s Day thirteen years ago that I stood by as...

Walking Through A Hopeful Process | Child Advocacy Center

The Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County (CAC), located at 4231 Trolley Line Road in Aiken, coordinates investigations, treatment, and prosecution of the most serious cases of child abuse in...

The care and feeding of Wild Roses

I suspect that doing the right thing is, in the end, simply cultivating an appropriate and deliberate respect for all the beautiful variations and possibilities of one another. I always...

Mr. … Mrs. … Miss… What?

I am 18 years old now, I’m a legal adult, and I am a high school graduate. The road to adulthood was rocky but I made it, and now, well,...

Be Young at Heart

“Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.” Franz Kafka July is The Youth Issue. Nothing...

South Carolina’s Jewels That Forever Shine

As a Lowcountry South Carolinian, I have had the opportunity to live in all three sections of our beautiful state: the Lowcountry, the Midlands and the Upstate. Many have enjoyed...

Finding Your Lane: A Quest Worth the Journey

I listen to music often. When I am working on my farm it is common to hear my playlist blasting extra loud on my bluetooth speaker or to see me...

Perspective on Ending My Senior Year in Quarantine

Quarantine Everyone has a different idea on how everyone else is handling it because, let’s face it — we’ve got the time to think about it. So I thought I...

Riding the Words

I have a friend who used to ride the rails. It was back in the 1970s. And he was photo-documenting the lives of railroad tramps — a culture and lifestyle...

Be Evolving

“We keep thinking that the human is evolving. No, the human has evolved to its extent. What’s happening now is the organization of humans: just like cells organize to form...

How to Keep Your Dog-GONE Sense of Humor

Motivational humorist Roger Rabbit once said, “A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Sometimes in life it’s the only weapon we have.” “Thomas,” I asked. “Did you put Bo...

Kindred Friendships

Women of Hope It’s no secret that friendships between women have complex and intriguing dynamics. It’s also crucial to many women that they have good friends in their daily lives...

In Search Of Happily Ever After

Once upon a time … before all the world stopped and held its breath … before we became achingly aware of and careful with one another … before, when life...

The Hopeful Nature of Seeds

Growing Hope I love spring. But moreso, I love what spring means to me. Spring is a time for shedding the bulky winter sweaters. It means longer days, warming temperatures,...

Be Hopeful

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” Nelson Mandela This month’s issue is Hope in Uncertainty. It began as The Wedding Issue … and then the reality as...

Change Your Mindset, Change Your Game

OK, I admit it. My golf game can best be described as “shoot and chuckle.” And, my tennis game … well, I won’t go there! But what I have learned...

PEDALIN’ TO HEAVEN

Excerpt from Rhinestones on my Flip-Flops I was privileged to sing at Rev. Lowell Clark’s memorial celebration. I have always loved his family and especially his wonderful wife, “Miss Ada.”...

Dance like everybody’s watching and you don’t care

Writing about dancing seems very counter-intuitive to me. I have always felt rhythmically challenged, which has never made sense to me given my deep love for music. From elementary school...

The possibilities of Red Rubber Boots

I’m not sure why, but people seem to want to come up and talk to me when I’m wearing my red rubber boots. With or without the dog. Any time...

Be Strong

“All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you’re not good enough or strong enough or talented enough. They will say...

The Humility Diet

As I prepared for this month’s Confetti for Your Brain column on humility, I came across a quote from Mahatma Ghandi that read, “It is unwise to be too sure...

Is Your Head on Straight? Because Your Horse Knows If It’s Not!

With enthusiasm, my husband and I moved to the great community of Aiken two years ago. We were attracted to Aiken for many reasons: the size of the community, the...

Live Life Enthusiastically

“Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity.” Bo Bennett You may inherently tend to be more “Miss Susie Sunshine” than “Debbie Downer,” but the truth is...

The Golden Rule | That Made Me Blush

It happens to the best of us. It is not a good feeling when you realize that you have made a major mistake and you want to knock yourself in...

Frodo: From Racehorse to War Horse to Home

It was nearly half a decade ago. Yet I remember – I will forever remember – the day I met a horse named Frodo. It was on the grounds of...

Be Outside

“The enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it; tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it.” ~ Fredrick Law Olmsted March is a magical month. The first...

I Found Love at the Lizard’s Thicket

I had my first encounter with Thomas at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston when he introduced me as the newly crowned Miss Chaleston (he dropped the r). It was...

The Power of Love | Live Better, Love Better

What if we all began loving better? Would it change our lives, our communities, our world? I love music. I love the way songwriters catch an emotion and clothe it...