post memorial day post

When it shall be said in any country in the world, "My poor are happy...the streets free of beggars, the aged not in want, the taxes not oppressive, the rational world is my friend because I am a friend of happiness," then may that country boast of its constitution and government.

Thomas Paine

I missed it, but it is never to late to be grateful for those who give and serve. I remember. We remember. And we need to take care of them.

We also need to take care of the rest of us. It would be a cryin' shame if we didn't...after all they've done for us to get us this far.

red convertible

Red convertibles are popular in our neighborhood. This one belongs to my three year old neighbor...the one who shared his M&Ms with me of his own volition.

Isn't it sweet of his mom to let him park his car in the garage and leave hers in the driveway?

under our skin

Watch it.

recognizing limitations

(rainy day kitty sleeping spot)

I went in with the youthful vigor that I could single-handedly change the world. But you fast come to the realization that you're 1/435th of one-half of one-third of the government.

Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX)

on first-year Republican members of Congress finding
out how difficult it is to get things done in Washington

That's how it is. We all have limitations. Some are more obvious than others, but that shouldn't stop us. We just need to know what they are so we can work around them or within them or to change them.

I have often thought about this issue in our government. We all want things to change, but even with the best of intentions, one person can't do it. It takes a village. Sometimes that village is the whole country.

i planned to mow

Not until Sunday now, it seems.

Sit with God as you might with the ocean. You bring nothing to the ocean, yet it changes you.

Sean Caulfield

love thursday 05.26.11 ~ open heart

(banana is happy)

Loving people doesn't mean you have to enjoy their company, want to see more of them, or even respect their values. It means you're willing to keep your heart open to them, show them compassion, and accept them for who they are.

Marci Shimoff

Wrap your head around that if you will. I'm working on it. Believe me...I'm working on it.

Happy Love Thursday....

bus ride

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.

Oprah Winfrey

Tonight, I get to go to dinner with a friend I know would ride the bus with me. (I have a couple like that.) We're going out for Ethiopian at a place neither of us has been before.

SO is out of town, tending to an ailing parent. Amazing how much we get used to having someone around. I do pretty well during the day--getting things done that need to be handled...running errands, doing chores...that kind of thing. When evening rolls around, the house is very quiet and...well, watching movies alone is not the same at all.

Just a couple more days.

Any of you want to take a bus ride with me?

on being wrong

So...what have you been wrong about today?

a radical experiment in empathy

behold...the washing machine!

Who wouldn't want one of those?

good for all

The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain, is floating in midair, until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.

Jane Addams

Love Jane Addams. In fact, we should know a lot more about most of our presidents' wives. No doubt the best presidents listened to theirs.

Oh...and in case of the rapture, this may be my last post.


CORRECTION: oops...Jane Addams not Abigail Adams. (Thanks, Mom, for bringing my error to my attention.) Jane Addams was the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She received her award in 1931. My bad. However, that doesn't change the fact that our presidents should listen to their wives!

even being beloved can have its travails

A BELOVED DISCIPLE

John is not only the archetype of the mystic, the lover, the chosen son; he is also the bearer of the agony of all chosenness. Election is seldom appreciated by others; it is seldom honored as a true touch from God. Our personal insecurity and neediness are too great to recognize and delight in the specialness of anyone else. Others are a threat to our zero-sum existence. Beloved status is almost always mistrusted, envied, judged, and even persecuted. That is the burden of being a chosen son or daughter.

Read the lives of saints and religious founders. Most of their persecution comes from their own families, and very often from church authorities. In the book of Jonah, it is the good and pious men who throw Jonah overboard (Jonah 1:14-16), while covering their attempted homicide with prayer, God-talk, and the making of heroic vows.

Richard Rohr

Welcome to the first day of the Third Day of the final wave of the Mayan Calendar. Let the "sprouting" begin. I am ready for new growing energy. The resistance of the Second Night has kicked my butt.

love thursday 05.19.11 ~ the devil made me do it

A brother asked Pambo, "Why does the enemy prevent me doing good to my neighbour?" He said, "Do not talk like that or you will make God a liar. Say, 'It is I myself do not want to be kind to others.' For God came down to us and said, 'I have given you the power of treading upon scorpions and snakes' (Luke 10:19), and so you are beyond the power of the enemy. Why then do you not tread down these evil spirits?"

The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

I. Love. This.

I've often wondered why people of faith are so afraid of "the Enemy" when they've been promised the power of the Heavens.

There you have it. Choose Love.

butter

As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists.

Joan Gussow

If it's partially hydrogenated, it's not food.

If you can't spell it or pronounce it, it's not food.

If it comes from a natural source...like cows...it probably is food.

If it has to be approved by the FDA...not likely.

Just so you know...butter is health food. Especially, organic butter. Uh huh. It is. Enjoy.

PS - Aren't you glad I told you?

birds of paradise

(paradise)

The community today can be no single tradition; it is the planet. Daily the world grows smaller, leaving understanding the only place where peace can find a home.

Huston Smith

Sunday I visited a friend. I drove to her house with the top down, but put it up when I arrived. We had a lovely visit talking about wedding plans (hers) and how I get to participate in the ceremony and preparations.

When I left, the sun still shone so I put the top down again. Just as I did, a bird (probably an angry bird) flew over and dropped...not an egg--oh, no...not an egg. Hit my seatbelt, vest, shirt, hand, pants...oh, yes, it did.

Fortunately, I keep a towel in my car. I used it.

When I put the top up at the end of the day, I saw all of the places that the birds had been using the top for target practice while I visited. Oh, yes--they did.

Monday, I had a late start at work so I decided to wash the bombs off my car. The sun was shining. I finished the job pretty quickly, sat down to rest, and...it rained. Truth. Minutes after I finished.

I hope they were birds of paradise. Oh, yes, I do.

high road

Foolish, selfish people are always thinking of themselves and the result is always negative. Wise persons think of others, helping them as much as they can, and the result is happiness. Love and compassion are beneficial both for you and others. Through your kindness to others, your mind and heart will open to peace.

Dalai Lama

This is what I call taking the high road.

I do try...even though I don't always succeed.

Taking the high road doesn't mean avoiding conflict or sweeping difficulties under the road. For me, it is about facing reality, feeling my feelings, and still being compassionate to the one with whom I am out of sync.

No one ever said the high road is an easy path.

head and heart

(fuzzy new bamboo shoot)

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

Nelson Mandela

...and it is a challenge to keep them in balance. One without the other is much less potent. When one is wounded, balance is even more important.

Neither can take the place of the other. However, each keeps the other well-tuned and functioning.

duct tape

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Mother Teresa

Even if the only thing you have to do it with is duct tape.

See the side of the house? Those dark spots in the lower right are bird poo--clearly, the bird had been eating berries of some kind. And those squares are vents.

On the right hand side, the middle slat was missing and birds were flying in and out. I worried that they were building a nest in the vent. It doesn't appear to be the case; however, I decided to remove the temptation.

I moved the bottom slat up to the middle and replaced the lowest one with...duct tape!

In our family, you either fix it with duct tape or a hammer. This time a hammer wouldn't work. And so far, the duct tape is holding.

friday the thirteenth (of may)

Above the storm, the smallest prayer will still be heard.

from Dolly Parton's Facebook page

(don't know if it is a Dolly quote)

And today, my friends...that's all I've got.

love thursday 05.12.11 ~ just do it

God is love. Therefore love. Without distinction, without calculation, without procrastination, love.

Henry Drummond

Today I didn't do such a good job of that. Too many people "in my way" instead of by my side--or in my line of sight to love.

I keep bringing back the focus. Truly I do. What I say here I bounce off the mirror for myself. If it is uplifting to you, I rejoice!

Happy Love Thursday. I mean it. Really.

turtle

If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can transform one million realities.

Maya Angelou

I wonder if he is dreaming of swimming with the turtles. I am. Several years ago I was snorkeling at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, "the place of refuge," on the Big Island. One of these turtles--about two feet across the shell--swam right up to me and looked me in the eye.

What a thrill! In my desire to share with my friends, I popped my head up to tell them...and Turtle was gone. Guess that visit was just for me.

rain, rain, rain

(the garden: pea trellises made partly from our bamboo,
cold frames allowing us to garden in this unseasonable
spring, slug traps full of beer)

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

At least the wind isn't blowing. Remember that tarp I lost several months ago? No? Maybe I didn't tell you about it. I was uncovering banana and blackbird. The wind blew mightily. I turned around and the tarp I removed was gone. Simply gone. About a month ago, I found it. Across the street. In the neighbor's tree.

The cold frames I built for the winter garden didn't do what we had hoped. We didn't get much harvest from our plantings. However, they are working well for starting the garden this spring. Otherwise, it would be too wet and cold. Nothing would grow. It would simply drown.

We've been eating salads from our garden already. Yum. Something about fresh cannot be improved upon.

good news

(banana is getting enough sun to start turning red)

Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.

Hafiz

Tony has been located and he is okay! This news was a wonderful Mother's Day present--not only for Tony's mom, but for all of his family and friends. He is safe. He is okay.

Thank you to all of you who have been joining in prayer and holding the good thought for Tony and his loved ones.

YES! I love stories with happy endings.

mother's day 2011

Moms rule the world and dads are kind of aware they are on one.

a facebook friend...a man

Happy Mother's Day to all of you and your mothers. May you have all the love your heart can hold.

banana made it through the winter

raise your hand...

...if this looks like the kind of Friday

you'd like to have.

Happy Friday!

love thursday 05.05.11 ~ the gift of belovedness

The greatest gift my friendship can give to you is the gift of your Belovedness. I can give that gift only insofar as I have claimed it for myself. Isn't that what friendship is all about: giving to each other the gift of our Belovedness?

Henri Nouwen

My sister-in-law's brother is missing. He left home a few days ago and no one has seen or heard from him since. He is a good man. He's been going through some hard times. Please pray (whatever that means to you) and hold the good thought with us on his behalf...on behalf of the whole family.

I wonder how much difference it might make in someone's life if we were to give them the gift of their own Belovedness.

Tony, you are Beloved. Be well.

And, I offer the gift of your own Belovedness to each of you.

truth

Since I got my Droid X, I have been staying up way too late playing Angry Birds.

Mom is coming tomorrow and I am looking forward to her visit.

I have lots of little stuff I need to accomplish and...see line one.

Maybe I will have more to say for Love Thursday...or not.

dinner

The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.

David Foster Wallace

I shared this.

one love one world

target

Thought for the day:

Don't shop at Target while wearing a red shirt and khakis.





(I saw this on www.parentsshouldnttext.com. )