Whistling

Thank you for supporting me. Because of increased interest, the blog has moved. Please follow this link. 

Dr-Rhia.com

What is it about whistling that motivates children to learn?

I don't know how many hours each of our children spent with eyes crossed, blowing out spittle while learning to whistle! But boy, were they motivated! I remember trying to redirect the motivation by saying things like, "Now that's a great attitude to take to your math homework!," or "Oh, you're blowing well; why don't you practice your flute?" But...no! Apparently, homework and flute don't hold the same appeal.

Just imagine how wonderful it would be if we could bottle that whistling motivation and sprinkle it over other parts of life...homework or chores, for example. Imagine saying things like, "Oh, you don't want to do your science project? Here, have some whistling motivation," or "You don't want to tidy your room? Here, have some whistling motivation."

I think I'm on to something here; we could call it whistation. Now if anyone knows how to bottle it, I know a lot of interested parents...and I'm first in line!

Why can't homework and chores

be this motivating?

Outside the Box

Thank you for supporting me. Because of increased interest, the blog has moved. Please follow this link. 

Dr-Rhia.com

There's something very special about sunsets over water.

Over the years I've watched better photographers than I use colored lenses and filters to take the most amazing shots. I'm frugal and I don't want to spend my hard-earned money on such things. But I believe where there's a will there's a way and I've learned to use my own filters; I hold my (99 Cent Store) sunglasses in front of the shutter while photographing!!

Seeing my sunset photos always reminds me that there are many ways to get to a particular place if we're willing to think outside the box and be creative. One way may not be as sophisticated or as efficient as another but it can be just as effective.

An old adage suggests there are many ways to skin a cat. My gentler version is this: There are many ways to photograph a sunset. Do you think it'll catch on??

There are many ways

to photograph a sunset.

Celebrate

Thank you for supporting me. Because of increased interest, the blog has moved. Please follow this link.

Dr-Rhia.com

What is it about sleeping babies that pulls at our heart strings?

Surely the appeal isn't the thought of changing diapers and getting up four times each night. So is it that they're innocent. Or is it that they're vulnerable. Or, perhaps, it's that they're...quiet!! For whatever reason, when we see thumb-sucking, sleeping babies we move toward them with open arms wanting to cradle them.

I wonder if, deep down, we yearn for the days when life was innocent and simple. I wonder if, deep down, we yearn for the days when food just appeared on the table, when clean clothes appeared in our closets, and when we'd never heard of a mortgage. I wonder if, deep down, we yearn for the days when we were celebrated for merely existing.

And then I wonder how things would change if we all started buying someone a cup of coffee or saying, 'Thank you,' and, when asked why we shrug and reply, 'Because you're you!'

I wonder.

Sleeping babies remind us of a time

when we were celebrated for merely existing.

Pure Love

Thank you for supporting me. Because of increased interest, the blog has moved. Please follow this link.

Dr-Rhia.com

Is there anything more pure than a child's love?

Our youngest has a favorite toy named Raffi. She loves this toy. Raffi is now ten years old but it doesn't matter that he's dirty and a bit flat. It doesn't matter that he has holes. It doesn't matter that his neck is floppy or that he's not pink anymore. He's loved. Period. A couple of years ago, we considered replacing the giraffe but our daughter was aghast! She didn't see him as an old, failing toy but as Raffi, her beloved friend. And she wouldn't dream of putting Raffi out to pasture!

Yet, as adults, we react very differently to things (and people) who are old and failing. It seems that our disposable society doesn't feel love quite as strongly or purely as does a child. How often we hear parents say, "Get rid of that old thing," amid a child's protest.

And I wonder; are our children the ones who have it right?

Nothing is as strong or as pure

as a child's love.

Simplicity

Thank you for supporting me. Because of increased interest, the blog has moved. Please follow this link.

Dr-Rhia.com

We've all heard of the acronym KISS (Keep It Simple, Silly...we don't use the word 'stupid' in our home). Well, it would seem to pertain to all things in life, even photographs.

I've been known to wait hours for the light to be right to get the shot I want; yet, to be honest, some of my best photos have been the simplest. Take this dandelion, for example; it was growing in our yard and looked so beautiful in the early morning dew. I clicked, chose black and white photo and...done!

We tend to over-complicate our lives these days. We find ourselves running ragged to go here, there, and everywhere. And we have so much to organize and do that it's almost as though we all need a personal assistant! I often find myself wondering what happened to the simple times. Don't get me wrong; I greatly appreciate our technological advances and don't want to go back to 'the good old days' but I do believe that adding a little bit of simplicity to our lives would benefit us greatly. Don't you?

It's good at times to keep it simple.

A Lesson from...Elephants

Thank you for supporting me. Because of increased interest, the blog has moved. Please follow this link.

Dr-Rhia.com

Elephants are among my favorite animals and here's why:

Elephants live in supportive, matriarch herds that behave much like a tight-knit family. If a cub needs help, the nearest elephant will give it irrespective of whose cub it is. If the herd is threatened, the elephants pull into a tight group with their youngsters protected in the middle of the circle. When leaving a water hole, the matriarch leads and another 'trusted' adult brings up the rear making certain all the herd is safe. Elephants never attack unless provoked but, when they feel their youngsters are threatened, they'll do anything possible to protect them. And when an elephant dies, the herd grieves; any cubs left behind are adopted immediately by another female.

So much can be learned from these gentle giants if we choose to listen. Elephants live for the good of the herd, and especially for the survival of their youngsters. Just imagine how wonderful our society would be if OUR youngsters were raised in such a supported way. We humans may be at the top of the evolutionary ladder but sometimes I feel that those lower down actually know more about successful societies than we do!

Humans are at the top of the evolutionary ladder

but can learn much from those on lower rungs.

Gratitude

Thank you for supporting me. Because of increased interest, the blog has moved. Please follow this link. 

Dr-Rhia.com

Travel is very dear to my heart and many of the things I've seen over the years are carved forever into my memory and my soul.

Something that impacted me greatly was realizing how little people have and how grateful they are for all that they do have. Need has made both adults and children more resourceful and creative. Across continents, children make balls out of discarded rubber bands and they make cars and trucks from empty milk/beer cartons, sticks, and bottle tops. They make whole zoos from stones and sticks and a cardboard box can be so many things that you hit the mother-lode if you find one!

The older boy in this photo had found such a box and hid it from me when I asked if I could take his picture, fearing that I may take his box from him. And how the perspective of this photo changes when you realize it's not of two little boys but, rather, of two little boys and their precious cardboard box.

Perhaps we'd all be better off if we could learn to be grateful for what we have rather than ungrateful for what we don't have.

Be grateful for what you have

rather than ungrateful for what you don't have.