Words from the Heart

Catbird at the suet feeder outside my window I love learning about nature. For last several years, our garden has been the home to a catbird family. I had been told that local farmers consider them a nuisance because they love to eat blueberries and raspberries. I must say, I took little notice of them...until now. This year, we put up suet. I found one that had fruit in it and thought it would be a treat. (The package said it would draw songbirds!) Early one morning in April I spied the catbird with his  distinctive  chestnut colored patch under his tail. He and his mate love the suet!  This surprised me, so I did some research.  Catbirds are actually quite amazing. They winter in the tropics amongst Mayan ruins and in Florida as well as the Caribbean. No wonder they like fruit! They are also quite talented singers. Early in the morning, when I leave for work, they are singing. They mimic other birds and, of course, make cats sounds. Since our green b...

Summer days are getting shorter. The time for harvest will soon be upon us, along with the new school year, and a multitude of holidays. Seems like, this year, summer relaxation was usurped by the craziness of politics and the constant battle to keep peace and hope alive. But, as I sit mid-afternoon, with the sun pouring warmth onto my desktop and the green smell of a garden resplendent in the full bloom brought by warm days with plenty of rain, I am grateful.  Creator of all I see,  hear my thanks. Know that for each blossom I behold,  for each tree I hug, for each blade of grass that gently cups my foot, I give thanks. As the days diminish into autumnal splendor, give me the grace to see the beauty in a garden gone by, bless me with the faith to know that the magic of nature is not always seen, but is always there. Thank you, blessed Gardener, for the turn of the seasons and all they bring to us. 

Back in May, I began an event on Facebook - Changing the World with Waves of Loving-Kindness .  My thoughts were, that if we do just one act of loving-kindness a day, the ripple effect of it will change the world.   Since I have been busy with that, I have neglected my blog, here.  But, today, I have decided that my act of loving-kindness would be to tell those I love - whether near or far - thank you for being in my life!  What better mode of communication to you all, than my blog?! When I first thought of doing this event, I wondered if I could actually come up with examples of how the ripple effect works.  Silly me!  Creator led me to this wonderful video that shows exactly what I was thinking about. I love this story, because it reminds me of the hundreds of kindnesses done to me over many, many years (more than half a century, now!).  I have done my best to live by the example of those who have blessed me - giving what I can, when I...

Quite a few years back, I realized that making resolutions for New Year's was often a futile and humiliating process.  After all, most people never make it past the first month of the new year, let alone all twelve, before failing.  Once I realized this, I set about changing. A resolution should be something that A. is easy to accomplish, B. brings you as much satisfaction as it does anyone else and C. add to your life (and to the betterment of the world).  In the past few years, I have found gratitude daily, looked for beauty in each day, discovered moments of joy, etc. Rather than getting to the end of another year feeling like a failure, I have come to the end of the year feeling such wonder, gratitude and joy!   Joy was the word I chose last year.  At first, it took a bit of imagination and creativity to find joy-filled moments, but before long, my daily list was endless!  Yes, and that includes the difficult days.  Let me explain! Take for...

  The word " brother " is found in many languages. (Just to name a few - Old English broþor, from Proto-Germanic *brothar ( cf. Old Norse broðir, Danish broder, Old Frisian brother, Dutch broeder, German Bruder, Gothic bróþar), from PIE root *bhrater (cf. Sanskrit bhrátár-, Old Persian brata, Greek phratér, Latin frater, Old Irish brathir, Welsh brawd, Lithuanian broterelis, Old Prussian brati, Old Church Slavonic bratru, Czech bratr "brother" )  I have been blessed with brothers, in fact, I was the only girl in our family of four children.  My brother, Barry, and I are what some call "Irish Twins," because our birthdays are just over a year apart. We have, as often happens, been close since childhood. Barry will turn 59 on Monday.  This is big day for him, not because of his birthday, but because he is entering the hospital for the life-giving gift of a new kidney.  The new kidney comes by way of his best buddy, Rob, who it turns out is the perfec...

Image by tajasel via Flickr "Commit Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty," announced the bumper sticker on a car that passed me on the highway over 20 years ago.  My first reactions was, "Cool!"  My second reaction was, "Ya, easier said than done!" Since that time, I have attempted to give the gift of kindness (randomly, of course) in ways that were not obvious or planned - thus random!  For instance, back when I lived in Maine, I would often pay the toll of the person behind me.   There are many ways to give kindness randomly.  Here are a few: leave flowers at the front door of an elderly neighbor (or have the florist deliver them anonymously) make cookies, brownies or some other simple food for the fire, police, or emergency workers in your town try to shovel out a neighbor's walk before they notice send a note (the kind you write by hand, the old fashioned way) to your favorite teacher, clergy or medical work letting them kno...

Image by jollyUK via Flickr I seldom complain, but after the last few weeks of watching the goings on in this country and the world, I feel a tirade coming on! Last week, I went through all the rigamarole to apply for a loan consolidation.  I, after all, am working!  (Thank you, God!)  I knew it would be a tight fit, but the combined income of my four jobs made a consolidation reasonable.  Wrong! You see, while the bank underwriters would accept my freelance writing, they would not accept the two adjunct positions I have because they weren't contractual.  Adjunct professors teach semester to semester depending on funding. So, even though, I am pretty sure I will be teaching in the spring, the bank will not risk it, even though lowering my overall debt through the consolidation would make it easier for me to keep paying my bills IF, God forbid, I don't get hired by the college and university again. So, I ask, how is this fair?  Why can the banks, who...