I love Ellen; who is identifiable without a second name. Ellen DeGeneres came out almost 20 years ago on the April 14, 1997 cover of Time Magazine with the simple statement, “Yep, I’m gay.”

But who really cares. What is important is that Ellen is a good and kind-hearted woman. In response to Donald Trump being ‘President-elect’ Donald Trump now, the comedian has promised to bring joy to viewers who are upset by his defeat of Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Check out the video in a Huffington Post story about a baby iguana who escapes the rage of a den of hungry snakes in the documentary Planet Earth II. It is a representation of the fact that when things look their bleakest there is still hope; room to escape. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to take off for Canada or Europe after the election results; at least not right away. The point DeGeneres makes that it is not the best option to give up and collapse inward into despair and defeat, as the baby iguana could have done. Remember the words of the great Winston Churchill “Never, never, never give up.”

Ellen has made a career of making us laugh. She has also done some serious charitable work; both on- and off-screen. She is a longtime supporter of UNICEF, the ONE Campaign (preventing disease and poverty) and PETA, among others. One account I read has her supporting 48 charities. In the beginning of 2016, the People's Choice Awards gave Ellen DeGeneres their "Favorite Humanitarian" award. The People’s Choice committee said the talk show host gave away more than $50 million dollars on her show. She raised $12.5 million for breast cancer, over $10 million for families hit by Hurricane Katrina, and another $21 million to people who shared their stories on her program. Due to her generosity, Ellen’s audiences were inspired to donate more than $35 million of their own money. 

Let’s listen to the wisdom of Ellen and mirror her kindness- and watch that video. Spread joy, not despair and do something positive to bring about change…….