Children

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about." ~ Angela Schwindt ~


Children, whether they are our own or not, bring youth and innocence back into all of us.  

The Power

‎"Give positivity, you receive back positivity; give negativity; you receive back negativity. And how do you give positivity or negativity? Through your thoughts and your feelings!" ~ Rhonda Byrne ~

A friend of mine told me last week about a book she was reading and how it was changing her life in the way she thinks day to day. She continued to explain to me that after reading sections of this book that she is starting to look at things in a totally different light. Needless to say I ran out to the book store to find this book as I was really curious as to what could be so insightful that it is adversely changing my friends way of thinking.

"The Power" by Rhonda Byrne may indeed be a life changing book for me. I have read through the first chapter and already find that it is changing my way of thinking day to day. I am hoping that with practice, I will soon avoid from looking at a glass half empty again and only see it as been half full. 

If you have a chance...read the book. It is looking like it may be the best $15 I have ever spent on myself.   

A Miracle

~ Positive thinking by itself does not work. Your embodied vision, partnered with vibrant thinking, harmonized with active listening, and supported with your conscious action - will clear the path for your miracles. ~ Sumner M. Davenport 


The events that have transpired over the past two months in an isolated area of Chile has made me open my eyes and my soul to the subject of miracles. How do 33 miners, trapped so far below the earth survive for nearly 70 days? It is something that I am not sure that many of us can comprehend.


I have watched live coverage of numerous mining disasters over the years only to realize that the outcome is never usually positive. The Sago Mine disaster in 2006 in West Virginia was one that I will never forget. Thirteen trapped miners with their families and loved ones praying for days that they would be found alive. Communication (the number one failure in any emergency response effort) failed the families and loved ones of these miners. When all hope was dashed that the rescuers would find them alive a radio transmission relayed to the emergency operations/command center, was overheard and subsequently misunderstood from someone overhearing the conversations. Church bells started ringing as the word reaching the families was that their loved ones were found alive. Not soon after, the mood of celebration turned to shock and sadness again. News quickly got back to the families that there was a grieve communication mistake and that there was only one survivor out of the thirteen. The other 12 miners were not alive. One can say three was a miracle in that one young miner survived the ordeal that took the lives of all 12 of his colleagues. But for the other 12 families there was no miracle.

During the past week in Chile, the experience of watching one family at a time being brought forward to greet their loved one was awe-inspiring. Thirty three times and each time it brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps over my body coupled with the fact that I was truly watching the most inspiring and "feel good" event unfold before my eyes. What is a miracle I ask? ....Looking its definition up in a dictionary it is defined as "An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God: "Miracles are spontaneous, they cannot be summoned, but come of themselves"  ~ Katherine Anne Porter ~" Well there is no doubt in my mind that the events over the past week have proven to me that "I do believe in miracles!"

The Elderly

"I can't help my self, every old person in the street has my number. If it's not a morning paper, bread or milk im delivering it's usually a little job needing done in their house. I'm always having joke with them and just a wee bit time of day costs nothing." Anonymous

The last week has opened my eyes even bigger than they have ever been before. One wonders sometimes where compassion comes from and how come some people have much more of it than others. I wonder that every day now. In addition, the phrase "respect your elders" are words that I honestly believe are slowly evaporating from society today. We can thank our elders, for they are the ones that brought us into this life, have given us the opportunities we have today and without them, we would have nothing. 




"To be happy in this world, especially when youth is past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merely an isolated individual whose day will soon be over, but part of the stream of life flowing on from the first germ to the remote and unknown future." -  Bertrand Russell

The Dragonfly...

The Dragonfly Story

Down below the surface of a quiet pond lived a little colony of water bugs. They were a happy colony, living far away from the sun. For many months they were very busy, scurrying over the soft mud on the bottom of the pond. They did notice that every once in awhile one of their colony seemed to lose interest in going about. Clinging to the stem of a pond lily it gradually moved out of sight and was seen no more.

"Look!" said one of the water bugs to another. "one of our colony is climbing up the lily stalk. Where do you think she is going?" Up, up, up it slowly went....Even as they watched, the water bug disappeared from sight. Its friends waited and waited but it didn't return...

"That's funny!" said one water bug to another. "Wasn't she happy here?" asked a second... "Where do you suppose she went?" wondered a third.

No one had an answer. They were greatly puzzled. Finally one of the water bugs, a leader in the colony, gathered its friends together. "I have an idea". "The next one of us who climbs up the lily stalk must promise to come back and tell us where he or she went and why."

"We promise", they said solemnly.

One spring day, not long after, the very water bug who had suggested the plan found himself climbing up the lily stalk. Up, up, up, he went. Before he knew what was happening, he had broke through the surface of the water and fallen onto the broad, green lily pad above.

When he awoke, he looked about with surprise. He couldn't believe what he saw. A startling change had come to his old body. His movement revealed four silver wings and a long tail. Even as he struggled, he felt an impulse to move his wings...The warmth of the sun soon dried the moisture from the new body. He moved his wings again and suddenly found himself up above the water. He had become a dragonfly!!

Swooping and dipping in great curves, he flew through the air. He felt exhilarated in the new atmosphere. By and by the new dragonfly lighted happily on a lily pad to rest. Then it was that he chanced to look below to the bottom of the pond. Why, he was right above his old friends, the water bugs! There they were scurrying around, just as he had been doing some time before.

The dragonfly remembered the promise: "the next one of us who climbs up the lily stalk will come back and tell where he or she went and why." Without thinking, the dragonfly darted down. Suddenly he hit the surface of the water and bounced away. Now that he was a dragonfly, he could no longer go into the water...

"I can't return!" he said in dismay. "At least, I tried. But I can't keep my promise. Even if I could go back, not one of the water bugs would know me in my new body. I guess I'll just have to wait until they become dragonflies too. Then they'll understand what has happened to me, and where I went."

And the dragonfly winged off happily into its wonderful new world of sun and air.......

STICKNEY, D. (1997). Water Bugs and Dragonflies. Explaining Death To Young Children. The Pilgrim Press.

Little Cam

A little over a month ago I received one of the most precious gifts anyone has every given me, and that is of a dragonfly pendant. This is just not any pendant but one with a strong symbolic and sentimental meaning. My friend lost something so deeply precious to her this summer - her eldest son - to a terrible accident. He was weeks from his 25th birthday and living life as he had since he was a child - full of energy, adventure, and passion. His passion for the outdoors whether hunting, fishing, or just hanging out in the wilderness.
After his very touching and extremely emotional memorial service many family and friends partook in a celebration of his life at the family home. It was a beautiful, sunny day on this Saturday afternoon in July and the backyard was buzzing with talk about the short but full life we had just celebrated.


All of a sudden, this beautiful dragonfly flew through the backyard in typical dragonfly fashion, zipping and dipping around - throughout the crowd of people assembled on the lawn. One of the guests commented that they had never seen a dragonfly in this area and how interesting it was to see one at this point and time. With the age of the IPhone and instant access to the World Wide Web the word dragon fly was "Google" to find:

"Focus on living ‘IN’ the momentThe dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nymph or an immature. It flies only for a fraction of its life and usually not more than a few months. This adult dragonfly does it all in these few months and leaves nothing to be desired. This style of life symbolizes and exemplifies the virtue of living IN the moment and living life to the fullest. By living in the moment you are aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing, what you want, what you don’t and make informed choices on a moment-to-moment basis." (http://www.dragonfly-site.com/meaning-symbolize.html)

The description of the symbolism of a dragonfly and how Little Cam lived his life verified to those in attendance was he was in our presence. Just like the water beetle in the story "The Dragon Fly", he had become the dragon fly soaring above all those he loved wanting to explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before.

Thanks....

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanksgiving...its meaning...its symbolism... As W.J. Cameron stated, "Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." One can be thankful for so many things in this world, our health, family, the roof over our head, the food on the table, the job we have, but what about those who do not have any or all of those things. Sometimes we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. What new car to buy, latest styles in shoes and handbags, where to travel next. Being thankful for what we have before us is so important for each and every person to acknowledge. But the word that intrigues me the most is "giving". How many of us truly give whether it is to someone in our family down and out, to a friend in despair, or to a stranger living on the street? This is something I am going to ponder today, tomorrow, and all the way up til Thanksgiving 2011 when I can hopefully say that not only I have thanks for what is before me but that I have given as much of me that I can to the betterment of society.

The end of a life....

"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Why are certain people taken from us far too early?

Over the past several months I have known several of those who have gone far too young. And with each loss I cannot help but reflect on the words above. Live your life to its fullest - be proud of who you are and what you represent. And, don't hold grudges with those who love you. Life is far too short to be anything but happy!

To Paula and her whole family - My thoughts and prayers are with you all right now as deal with your loss of a wonderful husband and father. May John rest in peace......

An Angel

"Angels are the guardians of hope and wonder, the keepers of magic and dreams. Wherever there is love, an angel is flying by. Your guardian angle knows you inside and out, and loves you just the way you are. Angels keep it simple and always travel light. Remember to leave space in your relationships so the angels have room to play. Your guardian angel helps you find a place when you feel there is no place to go. Whenever you feel lonely, a special angel drops in for tea. Angels are with you every step of the way and help you soar with amazing grace. After all, we are angels in training; all we have to do is spread our wings and fly!" -- Author Unknown

We all know an angel whether we are aware of it or not. I have discovered my angel who also happens to be someone very close to me. The angelic qualities that this person has demonstrated over the past couple of weeks has confirmed to me she is God`s little angel. Compassion, love, and thoughtfulness, coupled with sincere patience, kindness, and companionship for those that are down and out or suffering really makes this angel a truly special person in my life and in the lives of so many others.

The Fall Classic!

"Baseball is a game where a curve is an optical illusion, a screwball can be a pitch or a person, stealing is legal and you can spit anywhere you like except in the umpire's eye or on the ball."  ~Jim Murray


First thought I have with the Fall Classic upon us is what am I going to do when the World Series is over, with a cold winter settling in, and all you can find to watch on TV is hockey. I must say thank goodness for the NFL season! And whether you love or hate the boys in pinstripes there would be something missing if they were not in the playoffs. With the Yankees heading back to the Bronx for games 3-5 and our rainy Thanksgiving weekend upon us I can honestly say I have never ever looked forward so much to curling up and watching my favorite tean and favorite sport battle it out for the right to hoist their 28th championship trophy!! 

The Lion that roared.....

"Any change, any loss, does not make us victims. Others can shake you, surprise you, disappoint you, but they can't prevent you from acting, from taking the situation you're presented with and moving on. No matter where you are in life, no matter what your situation, you can always do something. You always have a choice and the choice can be power." ~ Blaine Lee

Why are who we are?  Why do we say and do the things we do? Today I have grown, I have spoken, I have evolved. I am hoping for the betterment of all those I care about around me. As Blaine Lee states "Choice can be power". The choice to be the person one is today.

Inspiration

Inspiration comes in many forms. For me the daily ritual of finding a meaningful quote that I can apply to my life and hopfully the lives of others is one I look forward to!  Read it, reflect on its meaning and see it it can make a difference in your life. We all need to do a lot more of this. Taking the time to think! 

"Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude." Ralph Marston