Barefootin' It! ~ "Undaunted Courage"

 

I'm Barefootin' It!

with 

"Undaunted Courage"

over at 

American Expedition!

Where conservation begins!

A resource to help you plan conservation projects with kids!

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet
and the winds long to play with your hair."  -Kahlil Gibran

*Life is in the journey!* ~ The Wings of Life

♥

Life's Inspirational Valiant Endeavors

~ The Wings of Life ~

 

 

 

 

"A Love Story That Feeds The Earth"

We, in our attempts to keep our children safe, 

our own bodies relatively free of painful venom and mad dashes to the ER, 

our lawns immaculate,

and our homes, literally, from falling in around us,

have become accustomed to guilt-free, justifiable extermination.

 

I will be the first to admit,

 my number one priority on my Spring Cleaning list is 

to stock up on Wasp, Hornet and Ant spray!

There is no love lost there, nor really, blink of an eye. 

I'll step over an ant hill in my front yard...

"Live and Let Live", I preach to my kids,

taking a knee for further investigation and awe.

I'll shoo a wasp out the back rather than swat them into oblivion

as they stumble indoors, effectively dazed from the Spring thaw.

I'll even show the appropriate amount of respect for the tenacity of a yellow jacket,

having arrived at the watering can first, waiting patiently for him to move on.

But...

(and Behold the Underlying Truth)

 by the time the dog days of Summer arrive

and the little tiny ant army has set up camp on my kitchen counters,

and those confused little wasps have begun an all out attack

on any human body part waving about the water's edge of our pool...

and that lone, thirsty, insignificant little yellow jacket

has laid claim to that hole in the ground beneath the Redbud tree,

all jacked up on hummingbird nectar 

and hanging out on the corner with his no good warrior-ing friends...

Well then, the kid gloves come off!

 

Even those pesky little honey bees are obnoxious

with their cute little fuzzy butt stingers,

 and their super sweet golden honey,

and their unnaturally industrious work habits.

 

I mean, whichever one of those little over-achievers

 came up with the genius marketing ploy 

to Save The Earth One Flower At a Time...

well, maybe they should rethink their strategy of World Domination.

  

Who needs flowers anyway?

And all-natural sugar in a cute little plastic bear... who needs that?

And pollination, 

And protecting 1/3 of our world community's food resources...

Yeah. Who needs that? 

 

Why should I have to wear shoes in my own backyard?

I'm hopscotching my way, barefooted, around the clover

to get to the clothes line and the garden and the mailbox!

It's a wee bit ridiculous, don't ya think, 

worrying over mowing twice a week,

and all to save the cute little bees and the cute little environment?

Who needs the environment?

Ummmm... yeah.

 

I'm having to think twice about spraying my roses and my lawn with pesticides.

And now, 

in addition to feeding the hummingbirds and songbirds, 

and keeping the squirrels busy with ears of corn on a stick,

I have to be picky about the plants I choose to plant in my flower garden.

Why should I care about planting 

to conserve our water resources or feeding the starving bees? 

It's just not right.

Right?

 

Now... C'mon.

( I remind my bad habits, my melodramatic tendencies, my inborn traditions...)

Where's the love for our planet, for our future?

Seriously, how hard can it be 

(pun intended)

to pour a little milk on your roses to cure black rot and other mildew,

or soapy dish water on aphids and Japanese beetles and slugs and spider mites,

or to simply ask to see the *Native* flowers section in your local nursery

to cut down on the need for watering, 

while also providing the most beneficial flowers for your bees?

Where's the hard in that?

 

We can all stand to take a closer look this year at how we're harming... or helping.

The simple truth is... 

We *Need* Bees

and

Bees *Need* We... The People!

So, look into your heart and your garden sprays

and see what you can do about saving the little Bees knees!

 

Want to Build a Bee House?

 

Want to Plant for Pollinators?

 

Want to join your world community in doing your share?

Well then, take a look at:

 

The White House

'Do It Yourself Pest Control'

 

Louie Schwartzberg,

the award-winning, cinematographer, director and producer of 

"Wings of Life"

and see what he has to say about "rediscovering your sense of wonder".

     

And when you've found it...

Don't stop there. Please. 

What's "Easy", isn't always what's Right.

*YOU* 

Can make a difference!

Wisdom, Honor & Passion 

My Friends!


"The best way out is always through."
~ Robert Frost ~

 

 

*Life is in the journey!* ~ A Dream Is A Wish!

 

♥

Life's Inspirational Valiant Endeavors

~ A Dream Is A Wish! ~

 

 

Thanks for the wish come true, Babe!

Some luck lies

in not getting what you thought you wanted

but getting what you have,

which once you have got it

you may be smart enough to see

is what you would have wanted

had you known.

~ Garrison Keillor ~

When I was young I spent hours sitting in the clover. Soft, cool grass pricked the underside of my bare legs and tickled the tops of my feet, while I searched through a small green patch for four leaves, not three. A journal lay beside me; its pages opened in the shade of our maple tree to neatly pressed rows of little green wishes. Luck seemed to be just a bit too chancy for my tastes. Wishes, on the other hand, well they were perfectly attainable as long as I believed in them.

Four-leaf clovers, shooting stars, eyelashes and wishbones; a full moon, dandelion puffs or pennies in a fountain. Perhaps it's not the totem you choose, after all, that heeds your wishes and answers your prayers. I believe the magic we are searching for is of our own making, even in times of darkness and despair... Especially in times of darkness and despair. When good fortune seems to skip right over your head, without so much as a "duck, duck, goose", and your wishes leave you feeling a bit like Cinderella's ugly step-sister... perhaps it's time to get busy with a little spring cleaning. Clear out the cobwebs. Open a few windows. Sing a gay little song out loud for all of the forest animals (and the neighbors) to enjoy! After all... a dream truly is a wish your heart makes. Why not dream big!

Listen to your intuition. 

Open your eyes, and your mind, and your heart to possibility. 

ACCEPT responsibility, 

IMAGINE good fortune and...

EXPECT happiness. 

The secret to Life is no secret. 

It is simply to SHOW UP.

 Where luck is random,

and lacking ambition;

a WISH,

made in earnest...

is fearless,

resolute,

and undeniably

of your own making.

The world is a big place, ripe with compassion, charity, and good will; as it is also with anger, greed and general discontent. And though it is, oftentimes, a very scary place to try to live and grow and prosper, our wishes be damned, it is all we have for now. Despite the capacity for resiliency and beauty residing inside each of us, we humans tend to cling desperately to those attitudes and beliefs which we've convinced ourselves to be safe havens, forgetting that it is this very determination that sets us apart from the vegetables. No offense to carrots and broccoli and Brussels sprouts! (Well, maybe to Brussels sprouts.)

It has been almost six months since my return to this blogging community ~ a world in and of itself, dedicated to searching for the answers to Life's most difficult questions in the name of Peace. In that time, I have been introduced to so many beautifully creative, funny, talented and loving spirits. It may be only a small piece of the pie, but it is abundant with fresh perspectives, clean sparkling ideas and enough optimism for us all to turn over a new leaf. And if that leaf happens to be of the four-leaf variety, then let us close our eyes and make a wish... quickly now; for as much as wishes never run out, and never expire, they do have a tendency to wilt when our imagination is out of focus. 

There are really so many of these individuals who open up a space for me, and others, to share in their dreams and wishes, and fears and insecurities ~ mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters ~ Life's students of all ages really, who want simply to be happy and to always follow a path of Peace. All of them wishing. All of them taking charge of their dreams. Stop in and say, Hi. You won't regret it.

♥ 

 My Friends

Catherine@ Catherine Denton

Em@ 35 Jupiter Drive

Intricate Knot@ My Blog & Role Fantasy

Mark@ Aloha! Mark Koopmans says hi from HI

*(4-leaf clover photo: Rick Stokes)

Peace My Friends!

“The best way out is always through.”

~ Robert Frost

*Life is in the journey!* ~ Raise Your Voice

♥

Life's Inspirational Valiant Endeavors

Raise

Your

Voice

 

When our kids were little our family watched the movie, “Pay It Forward”, based on author, Catherine Ryan Hyde's best selling novel. Our oldest son Will, who was twelve years old at the time, asked afterward “Is that really possible, Mom?” I remember, distinctly, the feeling of my heart dropping in my chest. His faith in the goodness of the world was slipping at an alarming rate into adulthood, but more importantly, the belief that we ~ humanity ~ are capable of greatness... of magic really, was beginning to fade.

I told my son then, 

“Anything is possible. 

Especially changing the world. 

If you believe in something

 and work for it with integrity and love in your heart

 Anything is Absolutely Possible! 

It starts with you.” 

I drew then, my own basic sketch of a person on a chalkboard in our kitchen with three people connected to that person, and three people connected to each of those three people, and so on, and so on, to remind our kids and us every time we saw it, of one simple idea: 

What you believe has the power to change you.

 What you do about it has the power to change the world.

Empathy ~ Inspiration ~ Courage ~ Action

The question is... 

Will you act on your convictions with Empathy,

seek your own personal truth when struck with Inspiration,

  stand up and be counted with Courage,

and define your own humanity with Action?

Peace My Friends!

“The best way out is always through.”

~ Robert Frost

*Life is in the journey!* ~ If I Were Brave

♥

  Life's Inspirational Valiant Endeavors

~ If I Were Brave ~

I was brave once.

I spoke my mind,

stood up to bullies

and loved with all my heart.

I was brave once.

I lost those dear,

but kept them close.

I was brave once.

I asked, “How are you?”

and then

waited for an answer.

I was brave once.

I stood up and said,

“I do dare. I do.”

I was brave once.

I believed in truth,

I believed in hope,

I believed in integrity.

I chose ‘right’ over ‘easy’.

I was brave once.

I believed…

in the power of my voice,

the power of my words,

and the power of choice.

I was brave once.

I claimed responsibility,

and opened my heart to forgiveness.

If I were brave,

I would do it all over again...

in a heartbeat.

If I were brave.

***

“It takes courage to grow up

and become who you really are.”

~ e. e. cummings

 Courage is not the absence of fear.

It is action in its presence.

  Be Brave My Friends!

"The best way out is always through."

~ Robert Frost