Why...?

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Is it just me, or do you find yourself acting a bit like a 2-3 year old as you mature?

My mind is constantly active and it seems these days that my main question, just like that of a 2-3 year old, is "Why?" Why is hardwood called hardwood when it's not necessarily hard? Why are flower petals so fragile? Why do some mosquitoes live for only a few days (or, better yet, why do they live at all?)

My current favorite is: Why do butterflies have such beautifully patterned wings? Oh I understand about camouflage - but camouflage could be accomplished with less beauty. So why? I think I'm driving my loved ones nuts; but it's interesting to see the children trying to find explanations for these things. And I hope most fervently that I'm planting the seed of inquiry in their minds.

To me, inquisitive minds are the mainstay of life; they're what keep us interesting to others and what staves away boredom when alone. Perhaps that's why so many young children have an affinity with their grandparents; they're asking the same questions!

And while you ponder that, ponder this too; why do we discourage young children from asking 'why'?

Hard wood, fragile petals, and gossamer wings;

we have to ask, 'Why?'

Are you living in the lap of luxury?

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Luxury is comparative.

I learned this during one of my life-changing experiences while backpacking in India.

Wanting to watch the sunrise one day, I arose early and ambled, half-awake, to the ocean. As I took photos of the sunrise, trying not to capture all the people (adults and children) who were on the beach, I had an epiphany. Even though I was raised in a poor family by Western standards, I was actually living in the lap of luxury!

Some of the people on the beach were returning in the boats with their early-morning catch. Others were finishing their morning duty of collecting food from still-wet sand. Children were putting in a day's work before school; and I was still half-asleep, sitting with my camera watching all the activity. And as simple as that sounds, to many people in the world, that is the epitome of luxury.

And at that moment, I felt the most humbled I'd ever felt. Life is inequitable, we know that; but let's at least appreciate our good fortune and not take it for granted. 

Life is inequitable;

let's at least appreciate our good fortune and not take it for granted.

A Friend is...

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We all realize the importance of friendship.

I don't know why these baby birds make me laugh so much, but in my mind's eye they're like three old friends, dressed in their finery, sitting on a park bench gossiping and putting the world to rights. I can even hear them talk (preferably in a Welsh accent...think Dylan Thomas):

1: Ooh, did you see Sara go out last night?
2: Well, let me tell you she wouldn't have left my house looking like that-
3. Aw, come on you two! She's young. I remember when you...
1. Don't you tell that story.
2. Oh go on, I want to hear it again..

I think that looking at these three birds, huddled up watching the world go by reminds me once more of how important and precious friendships are. And though I know that no more friendship quotes are needed, I can't seem to help myself. To me, a friend is someone who knows you at your best...and sees you that way no matter what!

What do you think a friend is...?

A friend knows you at your best

and sees you that way, no matter what!

May the Force Be With You.

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Let's be honest, I don't have a clue about what 'the force' is nor why it should be with whoever 'you' is.

So I asked my children and had some muddled story about it being all around and that it was powerful and that it could levitate things. As they began talking about someone not liking his son, I said, "Oh so the force is a bit like the ocean," and my very delightful children laughed!

But hang on a moment; they laughed at me? At least my 'force' is tangible and real and beneficial. Theirs is...well, I still don't know what it is. But the point is that whatever magic is portrayed in movies, I bet we can find a real equivalent in some eco-structure of life. Just consider the electric eel's capacity to zap things with electricity, or how phosphorous at night looks like fairy dust.

So I challenge 'May the force be with you' fans to look around to see what tangible forces they can find in nature.

Now this is bound to catch on!

May the force be with you.

Saint or Sinner?

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Isn't it odd how people seem to think they can say anything they want to you when you have children?

Some people seem to believe that your brain is so addled when you're a parent, you depend on them to set you straight. And if you happen to have children close in ages, or children of different color then, evidently, you open yourself up to even more comments.

Here are a couple of examples. In the years since our family was formed, one lady has grabbed my arm and asked, quite seriously, if I'd ever heard of contraceptive. Another lady told me she was worried, hugged me, then asked why we'd adopted when we knew we'd be killed in our beds one day. But the worst for me was when a lady sidled up to my husband and told him what a saint he was to have forgiven me...three times!

Many years ago, Dan and I made a conscious decision not to let these rude comments annoy or stress us. And, in fact, they give me blog fodder. But I have to wonder why people classify each other as saints or sinners when, in reality, we're all somewhere in between the two, trying to live our lives the best we can.

And let's face it; children may addle our brains but not enough that we don't recognize rudeness!

Children don't addle our brains enough

that we don't recognize rudeness!

Relax!

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Children and animals know how to relax...why don't we?

It was one of those days yesterday; I was running from early morning to late at night. Somewhere in there, Dan suggested that I relax and my reply was that I didn't have time to!! This morning I thought about how ridiculous my reply was; it was because I didn't have time to relax that I so desperately needed to do it yet I didn't quite understand that in yesterday's frenzy.

I'm beginning to think that, as we schedule our days, relaxation time should be the first thing we plan and not the last. Because, let's be honest, when we're not relaxed and in-balance, we're not as effective or efficient in our work so we're not doing anyone any favors anyway. And then a vicious cycle begins; we snap at the children who then choose to misbehave, so we snap at the children...

The most uncomfortable thing about being too busy to relax is that the only person we can blame is ourselves. We're in charge of our time so if we're over-scheduled we need to have a serious talk with the person in the mirror. I've just done that so I'm going to rest for 30 minutes...

...or am I?

Relax!

What do American Idol and Hitler have in common?

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'Grandiose' is a word that comes to my mind often these days.

I love watching American Idol! And, just like in everything else, although there are so many extremely talented people, there are also some with little talent. That would be fine...except that most of those with little talent seem to have grandiose views of themselves so they end up looking a little silly.

As I look around, I see the same trend happening across all walks of life and I wonder what has caused our egos to inflate so. History has had its share of grandiose people (Hitler springs to mind) and has shown us that it's a very dangerous path to go down. I sometimes get a niggling feeling that we need to arrest this trend of sending hoards of our youth to the Grandiosphere if we want to help create a kinder, gentler world.

Having confidence in something you do well is great. But grandiosity isn't appealing even when you have the talent to back it up. People don't seem to grandiose well so perhaps we should step down our self-importance a notch and leave grandiose to nature.

People don't do grandiose well 

so let's leave it to nature.