Recently a friend of mine was bemoaning the fact that there was no special someone
in her life who could scratch her back right where she needed it scratched.
I understood the desire and the longing and I didn't rush in (in my usual way) to scratch her back,
but for me, my bamboo back scratcher, with the little hand on the end,
is just wonderful and a tad more accurate than some dear someones!
No offense…
Stained glass window discovered in Welaka, Florida.
The earth has its own intelligence.
In Iceland there are hot springs, in Florida - cold!
The entire state of Florida sits on an aquifer that not only provides all of the water needs for millions of people
but is also a ridiculously wonderful way to cool off in the heat of summer.
Maintaining a steady temperature between 68 and 72 degrees,
it is aways refreshing to dive into one of the 700 natural springs scattered throughout the state.
They say that the body has its own intelligence too…
are you listening?
Photo of Silver Glen Springs and House Boat!
According to the great mythologist, Joseph Campbell,
"…we cancelled the Declaration of Independence," when we entered the First World War
and re-joined the chaos of Europe.
He believed that it was a turning point in American politics that has led us away from idealism
and onto the slippery slope of greed, "the principal passion in politics".
There are a great many freedoms in America and more on the horizon,
and we are still part of the Great Experiment of Democracy,
and there is still time to get it right.
Happy 4th of July!
From The Power Of Myth, a PBS series with Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, transcripted into a book of the same name.
How do you see the world, little dragonfly?
Processing 200 images per second, compared to humans who process 24 –
do you grow faster, forgive sooner, love more easily?
Are there any shortcuts to wisdom?
Do you know?
With all that you see, what do you know?
Perhaps more of what it is to be alive and well on this glorious planet than we clumsy bipeds,
little dragonfly.
Life does surprise us.
Sometimes with storms.
Sometimes with unexpected friendships.
Sometimes with lilies!
These "Naked Ladies" were spotted on an early morning bike ride through the neighborhood.
Are they genuine "Surprise Lilies," a.k.a. "Naked Ladies"?
They were that morning!
These lilies were nicknamed "Naked Ladies" because the leaves arrive long after the flowers, leaving the delicate ladies naked!
That is also the reason they "surprise," showing up suddenly out of nowhere!
Traveling by jet brings out the kid in me and I have to have a window seat,
even if I end up at the back of the plane.
I love looking out over the world, at the meandering rivers, the houses and trees and the coast line,
wondering which beach it might be, in which state, and of course the wonderful dramatic clouds.
On this trip I was in the back, behind the wings and when we arrived at my final destination I was observing the conscientious
workers, setting up hoses and getting ready to unload the luggage, and I was making up stories about them
when I realized that I might see my bag come down the conveyor belt!
My very own bag, a silly vanity, but it made me laugh at myself and it wasn't long before it tumbled down, right before my eyes!
I told myself to take a picture of it, and myself said there wasn't enough time,
and my I said sure there was and myself finally said ok and fumbled with the camera and voila!
There it is, the purple duffle, that happens to have my name on it –
a lovely gift from dear friends years ago.
My trusty purple duffle, back on terra firma!
This is a photo of my Dad when he was just a boy,
only 5 years old if the date on the cart that he is smiling in is to be believed.
He still smiles and laughs and makes fun of people he doesn't know.
He just turned 89, and struggles with memory loss.
Although I visited him for his birthday, he doesn't remember.
But I do, and it was very pleasant, even he said so.
How important are our memories?
Perhaps not as important as the moments,
and the feelings and the love.
Life is a mystery, all along the way – from tiny little babes to the young ones and the older and oldest –
it's a mystery.
In this case, it was faith and the man survived his folly, or was he actually working?
Either way, it took some mettle to stand there
and faith in a lot of things, like himself, the pilot, the time…
It must be nice to be so sure of something!
When I saw this HUGE spider on the bathroom wall of a friend's house
where I was responsible not only for my own lovely self,
but for 4 curious cats as well,
I knew that I couldn't sleep through the night with it in the house.
First thing that I did was grab the camera and click-click, two shots without the flash and now what?
I had to try to get it out of the house.
I was in override-your-panic-mode, placing one foot in front of the other until I found a clear glass vase
that wasn't quite large enough, but I had to try.
Prepared to drop everything in a flash if the thing so much as jumped or scrambled over the vase,
I placed the edge of it on the wall right in front of the spider and it crawled right in.
I was in shock.
I still nearly fainted, but being in overdrive, I took a good look at it inside the glass and marched outside
to place the vase not so carefully in the garden, wished it well, and ran back into the house.
It really had beautiful markings and was a prince after all!
Thank the goddess!
If anyone can identify the creature, I would love to know more about it!
The sea oats are beautiful again this year, thanks to the abundant rainfall.
Are you getting the nourishment that you need to be beautiful?
(cue violins and get ready for an info-mercial…just kidding!)
But if this were an advertisement, it would be for Happy Living.
A story…
There is a loving mother of three young and beautiful girls, whose life is so hectic
that it would make a normal woman crazy.
One morning before she left for another day at work,
she painted the toe nails of her three little girls
and they were thrilled!
Now that is happy living.
A cup of love and an ounce of generosity and fun, and your day begins elegantly.
With these you will be as beautiful as the sea oats in the setting sun.
Gleanings From Living Long
Lainesblog Thinking Out Loud 