THE STORY OF THE BE POSTER: At 48 years of age, after going through an extremely arduous personal struggle in my life, I felt emotionally depleted and completely consumed by negative energy. I found that I yearned for a creative outlet for my feelings. Although I have always dabbled in various craft projects, I have never considered myself to be a particularly talented artist or writer. Nonetheless, I found myself obsessively journaling and writing down my thoughts on scraps of paper. While this process was initially very beneficial, I ultimately realized that the exercise was becoming repetitive and counterproductive because I was dwelling on the past. In short, I was stuck. I became determined to put the negative experience in my rear-view mirror. I started to focus on myself and the wondrous prospects for my future and the future of my children. What did I want to do with my life? Who did I want to become? Who was I at my inner core? What did I want to teach my children? I wrote down a laundry list of virtues which described my aspirations for myself. I stared at the black and white list and found that just looking at it lifted my spirits and made me feel better, stronger and more confident. Then one day I found myself frantically cutting and gluing and painting. There were strips of colored paper and paint all over the foyer floor around which my family and I gingerly walked. My kids would tip-toe by and gaze at me sprawled on the floor with their pitying eyes, "What are you doing Mom?" I responded that I was just working on a project to clear my mind. While they kindly responded, "That's good Mom," it was in that teenaged tone that really said, "Clear her mind? She's obviously lost her mind." Undaunted, I kept right on cutting and gluing and painting and finally ended up with The BE Poster. Since its creation, The BE Poster continues to inspire me a little bit each day as I move forward in my life. I hope The BE Poster will also have the power to inspire you to push through truly challenging times or just get through each day as it comes. Whether we are dealing with the loss of a loved one, illness, a divorce or financial challenges, I have found that one thing which can always be improved is our outlook. My heartfelt wish is also that The BE Poster will become a helpful learning tool for children of all ages. I believe that the value of the poster is that it can help to open up a dialogue between parents and children about what it means to live life to the fullest while simultaneously trying to live as decent human beings. It's never about trying to be perfect because, of course, none of us can even come close to perfection. It's just about trying to be a little bit better on a daily basis.