Pauline Baird Jones

  • massive tree and roots

    Still Standing: What Trees Teach Us About Resilience

    I like trees. That is not a dramatic confession. No one is going to gasp and say, “Trees? Really?”

  • Woman writing, Sometimes the bravest creative dreams begin because someone else believes in us first. A personal reflection on writing, encouragement, marriage, and the gift of support.

    The Gift of Belief: Why Encouragement Matters for Writers and Dreamers

    Before I believed I was a writer, someone else believed it for me. This is a personal reflection on encouragement, long marriage, creative dreams, and the quiet power of being supported.

  • Start Middle Finish

    Why Is It So Hard to Start, Finish, and Start Again?

    Understanding the Creative Cycle The Creative Cycle at a Glance If you have ever stared at a blank page, a new business idea, a fitness plan, or a half-finished project and thought, “Why is this so hard?” you are not alone. Starting is exciting. The middle feels endless. Finishing is exhausting. And sometimes, after finishing,…

  • Heroines Who Save the Day - Pauline Baird Jones

    Heroines Who Save the Day (and Themselves)

    Let’s face it: damsels in distress are soooo last century. Today’s heroines are bold, brave, and perfectly capable of saving the galaxy—and their hearts.

  • Are You Building Bridges?

    Bridges.  As I was mulling this post, of course the first thing that came to my mind was The Bridges of Madison County. I’m happy to say I never read the book or saw the movie. I did see the Doonesbury version (The Washed Out Bridges of Madison County) in our newspaper. It was pretty…

  • Every Day Courage

    Have you felt under the gun lately? Like you’re taking hits from all directions? It’s so easy to feel lost in the smoke, or get so focused in one direction that you lose your sense of perspective.  Believe me, I know all about losing my sense of perspective. So far 2022 has been a year…

  • I’m a Hope-timist

    There are days when getting out of bed is an act of courage. Now when I think about what I could be facing—wars, pestilence, Mother Nature—waking with a cold is not a huge tragedy. One of our kids’ favorite books was Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are by Dr. Seuss. The whole…

  • Poison Ivy & Poison Makers

    When you hear the words “poison ivy,” does the song start inside your head? I wanted to add it here, but Youtube won’t let me. And it might give you mind words… And yes, if you know the song, it is evil to remind you of it. But Monday does that to me.  I was…

  • Are You Feeling the Stress Again?

    I was looking at past posts on gratitude (I have over 1400 posts on this blog!) and found this one from 2014. Felt like the right time to repost it! Have you felt under the gun lately? Like you’re taking hits from all directions? It’s so easy to feel lost in all the noise, or…

  • The Last Enemy - Pauline Baird Jones

    Kicking Tush Isn’t Only Way to be Strong

    I didn’t travel quite as far back in time for this blog post. Only to 2019, but I wanted to revisit it because I like it a lot. For the most part, the women I know are strong. They don’t flip bad guys or know killer moves. They are strong inside. The kind of hits…