Category Archives: Life

Animals, Carbon Footprint Reduction, Children, Climate Change, Kindness, Leadership, Life, Uncategorized

Hope

I hope you all had a nice summer and enjoyed some time with your loved ones. There is so much hard news out there and devastating forest fires in Canada, the United States, Greece, Spain, Croatia and Vietnam. People and animals have lost their homes, and many died from smoke inhalation. And yet, I remain hopeful that we can turn this situation around. There are so many people working to mitigate climate change and make sure that the Earth’s temperatures stop rising and start to decline. So, this is message which is meant to be encouraging in its nature. In the words of so many, we can do this. We each, individually, and collectively, can make a difference to help our fellow humans, and the precious animals of the world. Please reduce your carbon footprints, eat less meat, consume less, and take a walk in a forest or swim in the ocean. I have said it previously, each minute counts. Each one of us matters, and we can positively impact the future.

Animals, Carbon Footprint Reduction, Leadership, Life, Nature

Canada’s Wildfires

I write this blog while scorching wildfires race through eastern and western Canada.  Honestly, my heart is quite heavy and I fear greatly for our precious, livable planet.  The fires are out of control and over 9.4 million acres have already burned.  The fires affect countless people, pets, and wild animals.  The smoke from the fires is so bad it has reached down to New York, NJ, and Washington DC.  Air quality levels have been frightening and New York City ranked among the worst cities in the world.  People have been told to stay at home and schools are conducting remote classes.  As I think about all of the animals inhaling smoke who can’t shut themselves in an enclosed space with air purifiers, I shudder.  I wonder about the animals in Canada literally fleeing the fires and dying.  I had to bury two dead birds that I found lying on my lawn.  When will we end this chaos?  When will we all wake up and drastically cut our carbon footprints and change our ways of life?  This matter is so urgent and time is of the essence.  Please, we must WAKE UP!!!  We must make different choices.  It is truly a matter of life and death.

@climatereality
@gretathunberg

Life, Nature

New Beginnings

September is often a time of new beginnings and thus, I share some words from Christine Evangelou:

“I hope that the darkest nights of your soul

Give way to the glorious days of your spirit

I hope that through the shadows

Of those heart eclipses born of solitary evenings

A new life is born, and a change is set forth

I hope that you grant yourself the celestial passport

Your spirit has been yearning for

As you sweep into the deepest valleys of your soul

So you can gather the strength to soar to the highest mountain peaks

Breathing in the angelic essence of you

Fully, unashamedly, and unconditionally

I hope that you find the beat of your heart

In every flower, every meadow, every delight that your eyes can truly see

For it is within that beauty that your spirit lives

A conscious connection, a godly reflection

Of all natural, ethereal, fountains and springs

I hope that you can see beyond the clouds

To the sunlight that is waiting to peek its way through

Remember, the blanket of sky that keeps you warm at night

Is one of a silver, shimmering starry view

It is where you are held, always loved and at peace

A lustrous artwork of angels to whisper their magic as your heart speaks.”

Animals, Life

Finding Beauty

I was thinking about life and all of the challenges we now face.  In particular, how do we stay positive when our aesthetic surroundings are ugly?  I usually derive happiness from a beautiful stream set in a lush pine forest, or when the sun is shining and I am standing at the ocean’s edge.  So, what am I or you to do, when we are faced with a gray day, no trees, and a cityscape with no redeeming qualities?  What do we do when we have to work in that type of environment every day?  As I search for an answer, I ask myself if I really just need to look inside and find beauty in my own heart.  Isn’t that what we are supposed to do?  Or maybe I must find the one or two things in that cityscape that are pretty or find beauty in a stranger’s smile.  Perhaps I must find beauty in the curve of a building’s architectural line or in the fact that I have family and loved ones who care for me.  Perhaps it is up to me to recall a stunning landscape that I once visited.  Let me know what you think and how you have found beauty, even in the ugliest of times.

Life

Follow your heart

“I know many people will say that they don’t know what their joy or life’s work is. But I’ve worked with thousands of people, and I’ve always seen the same exact thing happen. When you take your desires seriously, you suddenly know what to do. We often don’t know what we love, because we don’t pay attention to the interests or activities that don’t look as if they will be financially rewarding or fit into our existing lives. But where there is electricity, there is power. You may need a sacred time-out for reflection or the company of someone who is on fire with their own life to help you ignite your innate direction. Remember, your doubt is not “realistic.” It’s conditioned. Just because a tribe of uninformed or frightened people agree on a reality does not make it real. There is an emerging tribe of people, myself included, who will tell you that it’s more realistic to believe in your natural strengths, your inner resources, and the formidable power of love.

This much I know: You do have a life purpose. You do have inspired work to do. You have enough love and energy in you to create absolutely any circumstance you need. Why would it ever be good judgment to ignore your own gifts, desires, and blueprints to the divine? Why would it ever be frivolous to ride the river of your joy, especially when it meant that you could make a unique contribution to our society, and would have more aliveness, hope, and promise to offer those around you? When did despair and suffering become the measure of productivity and contribution? How did facing down our fears and limitations become viewed as being soft-hearted and dizzy? Human culture has evolved and expanded because of those who followed a vision, not because of those who swallowed one.

So, what soul calling have you been telling yourself isn’t practical? What desires have been knocking at your door? Are you willing to trust your love more than your fear? This path may not be easy, but it will soothe and liberate you more than anything else ever will. Dare to dive deep into your lifetime. Follow your heart no matter what.”  Tama J. Kieves

Animals, Leadership, Life

Do Something Now

To say we are living in challenging times is an understatement.  We are witnessing great tragedies among us and are facing many divides.  What I would like to say is that we are all in this world together.  We may not have the same beliefs or backgrounds but we all wish to be safe, we all wish to be loved, and we all wish to have a home.  That goes for human beings and animals alike.

Fires are whipping through California destroying homes, crops, and killing animals.  COVID-19 has taken many loved ones away from us.  And artists, the ones who inspire and uplift us, are struggling to make a living and pay their rent.  I urge you to support them, as it is the painters, musicians, actors, and dancers who touch us and make us better people. 

Go buy a piece of art directly from an artist such as Donna Grande.  Her art is stunning and the link is below! Donate money to a struggling performing arts group or an animal welfare organization like the World Wildlife Fund.  Please do something  –whether you spend a dollar or $2,000.  Just make a positive difference.  Lives are in your hands.

http://www.donnagrande.com

Leadership, Life, Nature

Historic time

Anne Frank 1940

There is no doubt, we are living through a historic moment in time and our whole way of being in the world is being challenged because of COVID-19.  Some people have already lost their lives and we are all struggling to find order in the midst of the anxiety-producing situation at hand.  May we remember that kindness is a gift we can all afford to give and that nature is and can be a balm to our souls.

Ann Frank, a young Jewish girl who was forced into hiding for two years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, said it well, “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.  Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.”