The Perpetual Search


Green River by Thomas Moran (1837-1926)

Too many people dream about the life others are leading. They may believe the life is "out there."
They are perpetually searching for an answer to the mystery of life without realizing they have the key to unlocking that mystery--the key that will liberate their bodies and minds and bring them into the only life that matters--their own. That key is feeling.


~Arthur Janov ~

Your Attitude Creates Your World

One of my favorite speakers and writers, Dr Wayne W. Dyer, once said, "All of us have an energy field around us and we must be very careful not to let anyone else contaminate it with their negativity, with their unpleasantness, with their unhappiness.

A 19th century poet, by the name of Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850 - October 30, 1919) wrote poetry with cleaver lyrics and was considered quite popular during her time. In her poem, "Solitude", she gives a poetic description of how to keep your energy field clean and clear and uncontaminated."

Solitude
by Ella Wilcox

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow it's mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and you friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

Indeed she tells us that if we laugh we will create a world of laughter. If we weep, we will be alone. If we rejoice, others will seek us. If we are full of grieving, others will turn and go. If we feast and enjoy we will have a happy life. Attitude creates the very world that you experience each and every day and it is your choice to laugh or to weep.

Solomon's Crooked Crown by Rumi

Solomon was busy judging others,
when it was his personal thoughts
that were disrupting the community.


His crown slid crooked on his head.
He put it straight, but the crown went
awry again. Eight times this happened.


Finally, he began to talk to his headpiece.
"Why do you keep tilting over my eyes?'
"I have to. When your power loses compassion,
I have to show what such condition looks like."


Immediately Solomon recognized the truth.
He knelt and asked for forgiveness.
The crown centered itself on his crown.


When something goes wrong, accuse yourself first.
Even the wisdom of Plato or Solomon
can wobble and go blind.


Listen when your crown reminds you
of what makes you cold toward others,
as you pamper the greedy energy inside.

The Essential Rumi --translated by Coleman Barks

Regret

Imagine you have a dream tonight in which you time travel into the future, to a point near the end of your life. In this future, you meet the older version of yourself, and soon find yourself asking this question: "So...If you could live your life all over again, what's the one thing you would do differently?"

Your older self considers this and looks off in the distance, thinking. Then, just as you're about to get your response, you wake up from the dream.

How do you think your future self would (will) answer this question? Could you benefit from knowing what your biggest regret might be?

In real life, the closest we can get to this kind of information is by asking someone else about their regrets—we love hearing revelations like these. Better yet, what if you could ask hundreds of people about their biggest life regret, to see which ones get mentioned most.

Some psychologists addressed this issue a few years ago by reviewing a number of earlier studies which all asked people to describe their biggest life regret. To simplify people's responses, each regret was categorized into one of the following domains: Career, Community, Education, Family, Friends, Finances, Health, Leisure, Parenting, Romance, Self, or Spirituality.

Starting with the most common domain, here's what they found:

1. Education. These regrets came in one of two forms. People regretted either: a) not getting enough education, or b) not applying themselves more in school. Many confessed that they didn't take school seriously enough, spending their time with friends who also didn't study much.
At first glance, it's surprising that regrets about education were more common than regrets about relationships, family, or health. But when you think about it, education improves a person's prospects in all these domains. More education generally means more money, and marriages tend to be stronger and family life more stable when people aren't burdened by financial worries. And in terms of physical health, many studies have shown that a person's education level is one of the best predictors of how long they'll live, even more important than income or type of occupation. So when people reflect on their life, many recognize that more education would have provided greater stability and more opportunities.

2. Career. As the second most common domain, people regretted that they didn't pursue the career they really loved. Instead, they chose a career path that was more practical, or one that would pay better. They knew early on what kind of work they felt passionate about, but it just seemed too risky to pursue.

3. Romance. These regrets took a variety of forms, such as marrying the "wrong" person, not putting more effort into their marriage, doing something to hurt their partner, or letting someone special slip away.

4. Parenting. One of two kinds here: For the first, some parents wished they had spent more time with their children while the children were young. These parents felt they had put too much time and energy into other pursuits, like work.

A second, very different kind of regret was that parents wished they'd postponed having their first child for just a few years longer—they regretted having children too early. This regret was more common among women, who have a shorter window of time in which to have children, and are more likely than men to make trade offs between having children vs. investing time in their education, career, and leisure activities. Many wished they had put off starting a family in order to build their career or get more life experiences.

Most of the life regrets fell into one of these four domains. Taken together, they do more than tell us what people consider their biggest mistakes; they also reveal what people come to value most in the long run.

But simply reading about these regrets doesn't guarantee that we'll avoid similar mistakes ourselves, when you consider that big mistakes don't usually result from conscious, one-time decisions (like choosing which school to go to, or whether to get divorced or not). Regrets that loom larger often grow out of a series of behaviors (or lack of behaviors) over a long period of time. For example, continually neglecting to call the brother you're holding a grudge against; or the hundreds of times you could have spent with your children but didn't; or the thousands of times you put off schoolwork to do something else.

Only later do we learn that lost opportunities have a way of sneaking up on us before we realize they're lost, before we realize the opportunities really meant something to us.
Every so often, then, it pays to slow down and re-assess what you're actually doing, to question whether your behavior isn't part of a larger pattern you'll someday regret. Do I really want to be the kind of father who misses his daughter's birthdays? How come I always start pushing someone away as soon as our relationship gets serious? How will I feel about myself if I spend the next 20 years in this dead-end job?

It's so easy to get wrapped up in comfortable rhythms of our routines that sometimes we need to confront unsettling questions like these, just to remind ourselves of the bigger picture.
Life moves pretty fast...If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.


Reflections on the self, personality, and what makes you, "you."
by Joshua D. Foster and Ilan Shrira
On avoiding irrevocable mistakes
by Ilan Shrira in The Narcissus in All of Us

Things As We Would Like Them.


Nobody has things just as he would like them. The thing to do is to make a success with what material I have. It is a sheer waste of time and soul-power to imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different.

~Dr. Frank Crane ~

A Dog And A Banjo...What a Concept!

"AS SOON AS A CHILD IS BORN,
HE OR SHE SHOULD BE ISSUED
A DOG AND A BANJO".


Charlie Brown

The Top 10 Lessons I Learned from Charlie Brown

For 50 years the daily comic strip "Peanuts" entertained millions of readers. Every day, the adventures of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and the whole gang provided many laugh-out-loud moments while at the same time offering a daily inspiration and lessons on life.


Since the death of "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz, I reflect on how much I enjoyed sharing the adventures of the "Peanuts" gang and I remember the many lessons they taught me...


1. It's okay to be afraid...just don't let your fears control you.

Charlie Brown often sat in bed and spoke of his fears, but no matter how scared he was, he always did the things he wanted to do.


2. Persistence wins out.

Charlie Brown often lost, failed at much, but he never gave up. Even though he knew Lucy was going to pull the football away before he could kick it.... Even though he knew the tree was going to eat his kite.... Even though he knew his team would lose the ball game, he kept on trying.


3. It's what you think of yourself that matters most.

Linus carried a security blanket for years and his friends laughed at him. They also laughed at him because he believed in the 'Great Pumpkin.' Pigpen was a walking cloud of dust and dirt and was often regarded unkindly. Both characters, however, were always proud of themselves and believed they were as good as anybody else -- and they were right.


4. Sometimes you need to talk.

One thing the 'Peanuts' gang understood was the importance of talking things out. Whether leaning up against Schroeder's piano or atop the brick wall, they always had someplace to discuss what was of concern to them.


5. Sometimes you need to listen.

Even crabby, self-indulged Lucy knew the importance of listening. She started the famous 'Psychiatry Booth' where any and all could come and be heard.


6. Do what you love to do.

Through all their adventures, Schroeder remained constant in his appreciation of Beethoven and his love of playing the piano. He loved to play piano and that's what he did, regardless of the circumstances. Charlie Brown flew his kite, played baseball and football, not just to win (he knew he wouldn't), but because he loved to do those things.


7. It's important to have friends that care.

The 'Peanuts' gang was made up of individual characters, each with their own foibles and talents, but through it all they were always there for each other.


8. Big dreams lead to big things!

Snoopy was the biggest dreamer of them all, but his wild imagination often led to even wilder, more fantastic adventures in real life. Snoopy knew that you must have a big dream if you are going to lead a big life.


9. Action creates reality.

As Charlie Brown was reminded time and again after prodding from Linus: it takes action to bring about change. Though he often failed, Chuck took action quite regularly...and every now and again things would go his way.


10. Laugh every day!

While the kids themselves may not have seen the humor in the things they did, Schulz made sure that *we* did. Life is only as serious or as humorous as YOU make it... Lighten up. Go play softball. Fly a kite. Dance with you dog. Smile...it makes people wonder what you're up to.

* Submitted by Jim Allen, a personal & business success coach, who can be reached at Jim@CoachJim.com, or visited on the web at http://www.coachingjim.com/

Healing the Battle Scars of Childhood

Even those of us who had happy childhoods can recall certain experiences or periods that we wish we hadn’t lived through, but many people had to grow up under truly miserable, even traumatic, circumstances. We all know that the psychological effects of a difficult childhood linger into adulthood, but now medical researchers are examining how this plays out regarding physical health -- they’ve discovered that children who endured neglect, abuse, social isolation and/or poverty have a high likelihood of developing certain medical problems now that they are adults. Understanding how this happens will reveal what specific health measures can help better the odds that such people can have long, healthy -- and far happier lives.

Predictable Patterns

A study from Duke University followed a group of New Zealanders from birth for just over 30years, at which time researchers evaluated the health of each participant. They discovered that those who experienced childhood trauma were twice as likely to suffer from serious adult health problems, including major depression and chronic inflammation (as measured by levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), as well as metabolic markers (being overweight, high blood pressure and high total cholesterol, for example) that indicate a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia. Another long-range study -- this one from Kaiser-Permanente’s Department of Preventive Medicine -- found that half of the 286 obese people in its treatment program had been sexually abused as children.

While neither of these studies investigated what mechanism might be causing these later physical problems, researchers believe that overstimulation of the stress response in childhood continues to affect nervous, immune and endocrine functioning into adulthood. This is such a troubling situation that it made me wonder what people who suffered from early trauma might do to break free of its implications for their later health. I asked four different experts for their insights...

Judith Orloff, MD, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, and author of Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life

"When people experience trauma and emotional stress, the effects get lodged -- and sometimes stuck -- in the body, bringing physical and emotional rigidity because the memory of the trauma remains lodged in the muscles. People who have had these experiences don’t feel safe and open to the world -- they remain guarded, sometimes not even wanting to be touched or hugged. Trauma from the past absolutely can be healed, but you need to take on the task of releasing it, which will involve going back to the trauma and the feelings associated with it. Conventional therapy is important, but you can’t just talk your way out of trauma like this -- you have to involve the body as well."

What you can do: In addition to cognitive therapy, Dr. Orloff recommends that people with childhood trauma get regular massages to release the stress that is bound in the body. This relieves both old and new stress by relaxing the muscles. She notes that people who have suffered trauma often find that getting a massage brings to the surface memories of the stressful events that they have been "carrying in their bodies," for instance creating pain in the shoulders or lower back. Also she says, people may find they cry and, if this happens, it’s something positive. "Crying helps release memories -- it is the body’s mechanism to let go of stress and increase endorphins that will help the person feel better."

Mona Lisa Schulz, MD, PhD, neuropsychiatrist, medical intuitive and author of The Intuitive Advisor

"The brain stores memories associated with trauma in two regions. One is the hippocampus, which stores and processes lasting memory -- such traumas are the experiences that people can talk about. Other memories are stored by the amygdala, which is involved with emotional learning and memories that tend to get blocked from consciousness. These memories dwell in the body and are expressed through body symptoms. Here is how: The amygdala is connected to the body’s autonomic nervous system, which affects the heart, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the immune system. When something in the world does not feel safe and secure, the immune system, heart and digestive tract will let you know through many kinds of illness and discomfort, including cold and flu, heart palpitations and nausea. When a similar painful event happens later in life, your body responds with the same type of reaction -- as if on "instant replay."

What you can do: Dr. Schulz recommends a type of cognitive therapy called Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (www.BehavioralTech.com) that has been shown by research to "work phenomenally well for transforming childhood trauma." She explained that DBT enables patients to learn how to soothe themselves "the minute the first sense of the amygdala-autonomic nervous system’s panic, sadness or anger sets in, so the emotions don’t go down into your body and elicit all the physical reactions." Where mindful meditation teaches people how to handle symptoms, DBT goes further, teaching people how to deal with the emotions that lead to the symptoms -- and learning to regulate emotions before they start the domino effect -- freeing you from being a prisoner of your past.

Lixing Lao, PhD, LAc, senior researcher for Traditional Chinese Medicine at The Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore

"In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), where organs are used to represent specific syndromes and problems, the kidney is associated with childhood development, including when it is damaged by adverse psychosocial experiences," says Dr. Lao. "The TCM theory is that in childhood the kidneys are still weak -- emotional abuse that damages the kidneys’ chi (or energy) can keep them from growing strong."

What you can do: Dr. Lao suggests starting with a visit to an acupuncturist or a TCM practitioner who can help release these problems with herbal treatments and acupuncture to support the kidneys. "We believe that people need to also work with the problem through active treatment as well," he noted. "For this, we advise tai chi quan, a slow martial art exercise. The movements are so slow that they quiet and calm the mind and keep its focus on the moment." Dr. Lao recommends practicing tai chi quan consistently, every day or every other day, noting that after a year you will find yourself noticeably stronger physically and mentally.

Finally, I asked our frequent contributor Mark Stengler, NMD, what therapies and treatments he recommends to people suffering from long-ago abuse or other trauma. He, too, reinforced that the mind is connected to the nervous and immune systems, which is why unresolved mental and emotional traumas continue to affect the body throughout the years. In addition to counseling, Dr. Stengler says that eating a healthful diet and using nutritional supplements that promote physical health, such as fish oil and B vitamins, will improve chances of emotional healing by keeping the body strong. In addition, he treats patients with homeopathic substances that help heal emotional grief and trauma, among them Natrum Muriaticum and Pulsatilla. For optimal healing, he recommends working with a holistic practitioner because that is the way to get the individualized homeopathic therapy that is best for your specific situation.

Judith Orloff, MD, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, and author of Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life (Three Rivers).

Mona Lisa Schulz, MD, PhD, neuropsychiatrist, medical intuitive and author of The Intuitive Advisor: A Psychic Doctor Teaches You How to Solve Your Most Pressing Health Problems (Hay House).

Lixing Lao, MD, PhD, LAc, senior researcher for Traditional Chinese Medicine at The Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.

Mark Stengler, NMD, founder and director, Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine, Encinitas, California, and author of Bottom Line Natural Healing newsletter.

On the Highway of Life

Steve Jobs 1955-2011


Half Dome Yosemite National Park
by Maxie Weaver
"Great is granite and Yosemite is its prophet" ___ Thomas Starr King

"Your time is limited,
so don't waste it living someone else's life.
Don't be trapped by dogma---
which is living with the results of other people's thinking.
Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And, most important,
have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
Steve Jobs
"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward;
you can only connect them looking
backwards.
So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
You have to trust in
something---
your gut, destiny, life, karma,
whatever.
This approach has never let me down,
and it has made all the difference in my life."
Steve Jobs

What if you slept...

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

What if you slept
And what if
In your sleep
You dreamed
And what if
In your dream
You went to heaven
And there plucked a strange
and beautiful flower
And what if
When you awoke
You had that flower in your hand.
Ah, what then?

A Native American Prayer

Great Spirit,
give us hearts to understand;
Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;

Never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of
earth's beauty;
Never to take from her what we cannot use.

Give us hearts to understand
That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion;
That to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty;

That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a
house of stench;
That as we care for her she will care for us.

We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security.
We have exploited simply for our own ends.
We have distorted our knowledge.
We have abused our power.

Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst,
help us to find the way to refresh you lands.

Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution,
help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.

Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse,
help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.

Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed,
help us to find a way to replenish them.

Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost
in selfishness and corruption,
help us to find the way to restore our humanity.

Ojibwa Prayer

Grand Canyon with Rainbow by
Thomas Moran 1837 - 1926

Oh Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds
And whose breath gives life to everyone,
Hear me.

I come to you as one of your many children;
I am weak. I am small. I need your wisdom and your strength.

Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever
behold the red and purple sunsets.

Make my hands respect the things you have made,
and make my ears sharp so I may hear your voice.

Make me wise, so that I may understand
what you have taught my people and
The lessons you have hidden in each leaf and each rock.

I ask for wisdom and strength,

Not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able
to fight my greatest enemy, myself.

Make me ever ready to come before you with
clean hands and a straight eye,
So as life fades away as a fading sunset,
My spirit may come to you without shame.

Psychology From A Dogs Point Of View

A Reminder For The Empty Headed

Don Quixote
Fighting Windmills
by Pablo Picasso

The following is a poem by E.E. Commings (1894-1962). Born and reared in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cummings developed a strong interest in poetry and art at an early age. After completing studies in English and the classics at Harvard University, he moved to New York where he stayed until World War I.

His style is quite unique and often misunderstood. One of the first things to be noticed about his poetry is the pronoun "i" is used in the lower case. This shows humility, and is an effective way of reminding the reader that the self is not always as important as it seems. Cummings uses "incorrect" syntax in unusual ways to help illustrate the meanings of his poems. Capitalization, when used, is important in his poetry to emphasize words or phrases such as "Humanity i love you."

The following is in part and a depiction of Cummings whimsical, funny way of sending the reader a message. The poem is about a little girl, by the name of Effie who has died and God has come to claim her body.

E. E. Cummings, here is little Effie's head

here is little Effie's head
whose brains are made of gingerbread
when judgment day comes
God will find six crumbs
stooping by the coffinlid
waiting for something to rise
as the other somethings did...
you imagine his surprise
bellowing through the general noise
Where is Effie who was dead?
...to God in a tiny voice,
i am may the first crumb said
whereupon its fellow five
crumbs chuckled as if they were alive
and number two took up the song
might i'm called and did no wrong
cried the third crumb, i am should
and this is my little sister could
with our big brother who is would
don't punish us for we were good;
and the last crumb with some shame
whispered unto god, my name
is must and with the others i've
been Effie who isn't alive
cross the threshold have no dread
lift the sheet back in this way
here is little Effie's head
whose brains are made of gingerbread.

The six crumbs, May, Might, Should, Could, Would, and Must made up Effie's absence of a brain. A lesson for all those who are empty headed, rid yourself of your woulds and coulds and shoulds so that God doesn't have trouble finding you when he comes to claim your body.

A Reverence for Nature

Mujer en Turquesa
G. E. Mullan

Native American poets through the ages have expressed their love for the natural world and how important it is for each of us to be reminded that we are connected to nature and not in nature to push it around.

The Onondaga Indians described it in this way: "In our way of life, in our government, with every decision we make, we always keep in mind the generations to come. It's our job to see that the generations still unborn, have a world no worse than ours and hopefully better. When we walk upon mother earth we always plant our feet carefully, because we know the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them."

This ideal of remembering the unborn generations, having reverence for nature is a very powerful message for us today as we think about our planet and how connected we need to feel to it.

A member of the Abenaki Tribe spoke of "A Sacred Hoop" this way, "To honor and respect, means to think of the land and the water and the plants and animals who live here as having a right, equal to ours, to be here. We are not the supreme and all knowing beings, living at the top of the pinnacle of evolution, but we are in fact members of the sacred hoop of life, along with trees, and rocks, the coyotes, and the eagles, fish and toads...and each fulfills a purpose. They each perform given task in the sacred hoop, as do we."
The Sacred Hoop is a wonderful reminder of our coexistence in nature.

A reverence for nature was also express in the prayer of the Ojibway in the following way:

"Grandfather, look at our brokenness. We know that in all Creation only the Human Family has strayed from the Sacred Way."

"We know that we are the ones, who are divided and we are the ones who must come back together. To walk in the Sacred Way"

"Grandfather, Sacred One"

"Teach us Love, Compassion and Honor..."

That We May Heal the Earth and each other"
The Ojibway Tribal Prayer is most appropriate for the times we now live in. To those of you fortunate enough to have cherished ones to spend this day with, I wish you great Joy, Happiness and Abundance. May you feel a deep sense of Gratitude for all the gifts that have been bestowed upon you by your Creator and for all of nature which surrounds us. The reverence for nature is something we can all have by being in a constant state of gratitude for all that is, in our world, our planet, and our universe.

The Theme Is Love

The theme is love, particularly romantic love. We know when we are experiencing it how joyous it is. How great we feel. Perhaps one of the greatest poets who ever talked about love was Elizabeth Barret Browning who married another famous poet, Robert Browning.

She had a series of sonnets from the Portuguese on romantic love and her writings were about her great love for her husband, Robert Browning. She didn't put her attention on his physical attributes or on the material man that he was, instead she looked at all the little things which is what makes romantic love so beautiful. Her sonnets will live for thousands of years.
Written back in the 19th century, shortly before her death in 1861.


Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
from Sonnets from the Portuguese
XLIII


How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men might strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,–I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!–and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barret Browning speaks of her great love for her husband by talking about the passion, by talking about , not his appearances and not his material things, but the little things. She loves him with the breath and smiles and tears of all her life. So beautifully expressed and enduring. She closes with, "I shall love thee better after death" where she speaks of an eternal love rather than a temporary one.

Moral Progress of a Nation

Would you club me to death for my coat?

 "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahata Gandi

"If a man shoots his dog because the animal is no longer capable of service, he does not fail in his duty to the dog, for the dog cannot judge, but his act is inhuman and damages in himself that humanity which it is his duty to show towards mankind. If he is not to stifle his human feelings, he must practice kindness towards animals, for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men." (Kant, LE,240)

Excerpt from The Moral Status of Animals
First published Tue Jul 1, 2003; substantive revision Mon Sep 13, 2010
Stanford Encyclopedia Of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-animal/

Each year, hundreds of thousands of seals are clubbed and shot to death in Canada for their fur. This annual commercial seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world. Join our ProtectSeals campaign in ending this cruel and needless killing for good.

The Humane Society of the United States
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/seal_hunt/

Priorities

The Man Who Lived Next Door

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way.. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams.

There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

"Jack, did you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you.. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.

"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly..

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

"The box is gone," he said

"What box?" Mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read.. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett . It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter.. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."

"The thing he valued most was...my time"

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.

"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.

"Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time." Author unknown

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."

Live One Day At A Time And Make It a Masterpiece

Avoid negative sources, people, places & habits

Believe in yourself

Consider things from every angle

Don't give up and don't give in

Everything you're looking for lies behind the mask you wear

Family & friends are hidden treasures, seek them & enjoy their riches

Give more than you planned to

Hang on to your dreams

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it

Keep trying no matter how hard it seems

Love yourself

Make it happen

Never lie, cheat or steal

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values

Practice makes perfect

Quality not quantity in anything you do

Remember that silence is sometime the best answer

Stop procrastinating

Take control of your own destiny

Understand yourself in order to better understand others

Visualize it

When you lose, don't lose the lesson

"X"cellence in all your efforts

You are unique nothing can replace you

Zero in on your target & go for it


...and the Prince lived happily ever after.

And as they rode off into the sunset,
the prince promised her his love, his riches and his castle in the clouds if only she would be his.

She agreed. Later, after the wedding, they discussed the running of the kingdom.

"The King, my father, is old and my blessed mother, the Queen, has long been gone and the castle is in terrible disarray," explained the Prince. "It needs the hand of a fine woman like yourself to straighten its many rooms and dust its many nooks and light its many fires and clean its many chimneys and sweep its many corridors and feed its many occupants and visitors.

Then, we shall have many sons so that they may run the kingdom long after I am gone. I can only hope that when they come of age, they will be as lucky as I in finding a good wife." And with that, they kissed and the Prince lived happily ever after.

Idle Thoughts Of A Wandering Mind

I had amnesia once...or twice.

I went to San Francisco. I found someones heart. Now what?

Protons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic.

All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.

If the world were a logical place, men would ride their horses sidesaddle.

What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?

They told me I was gullible and I believed them.

Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto the freeway.

Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.

One nice thing about egotist: they don't talk about other people.

My weight is perfect for my height...which varies.

I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.

How can there be self-help "groups"?

If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales?

Show me a man with both feet firmly on the ground, and I'll show you a man who can't get his pants off.

Is it me...or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?

On Loneliness

by J. Ruth Gendler

Loneliness loves to run, but he is afraid to swim. He wears his isolation around him like a grey sweatshirt thrown back across the shoulders. It started when he was a little boy listening to the adults upstairs screaming at each other as he hid under the covers. At age seven he vowed never to need anyone. It was as if he sealed himself inside his skin, separate from everyone.


Once Loneliness almost changed his mind. There was a woman who he cherished. She surprised him. He loved her so much that he thought he would never be himself again. He trusted that such a relationship could not survive, and it didn't. Now more convinced than ever that companionship is a lie and joy is fragile, he has become contemptuous of other's happiness.


Excerpt from J. Ruth Gendler's, The Book of Qualities.

The Years Pass and Cinderella Is Now 75 Years Old

After a fulfilling life with the now dead Prince, she happily sits upon her rocking chair, watching the world go by from her front porch, with a cat named (strangely enough) Bob, for companionship.

One sunny afternoon, out of nowhere, appeared the Fairy Godmother. Cinderella said, "Fairy Godmother, what are you doing here after all these years?" The Fairy Godmother replied, "Cinderella, you have lived an exemplary life since I last saw you. Is there anything for which you heart still yearns?" Cinderella was taken aback, overjoyed, and after some thoughtful consideration, and almost under her breath she uttered her first wish: "I wish I were wealthy beyond comprehension." Instantly, her rocking chair was turned into solid gold. Cinderella was stunned. Bob, her old faithful cat, jumped off her lap and scampered to the edge of the porch, quivering with fear. Cinderella said, "Oh thank you, Fairy Godmother." The Fairy Godmother replied, "It is the least I can do. What does our heart want for your second wish?" Cinderella looked down at her frail body, and said: "I wish I were young and full of the beauty of my youth again". At once, her wish became reality, and her beautiful youth visage returned. Cinderella felt stirrings inside her that had been dormant for years. A long forgotten vigor and vitality began to course through her. Then the Fairy Godmother again spoke, "You have one more wish; what shall you have?" Cinderella looks over to the frightened cat in the corner and says, "I wish for you to transform Bob, my old cat, into a kind and handsome your man." Magically, Bob suddenly underwent so fundamental a change in his biological make-up, that when complete he stood before her, a man so masculine and enticing, the likes of which neither she nor the world had ever seen, so fair indeed that birds began to fall from the sky at his feet. The Fairy Godmother again spoke, "Congratulations, Cinderella. Enjoy your new life." And, with a blazing shock of bright blue electricity, she was gone. For a few eerie moments, Bob and Cinderella looked into each other's eyes. Cinderella sat, breathless, gazing at the most stunningly perfect man she had ever seen. Then Bob walked over to Cinderella, who sat transfixed in her rocking chair, and held her close in his young muscular arms. He leaned in close, blowing her golden hair with his warm breath as he whispered...

... "Bet you're sorry you neutered me now."

Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity

...as recalled by Dr. Paul Witty who knew Dr. Einstein and it goes like this:


Professor Einstein went to a party one night and the hostess said, "Professor Einstein will tell us the meaning of realitivity."
"I will tell you a story instead", he said.
"I was going down the street the other day with a blind friend and I remarked that I should like a glass of milk. "What is milk?", asked my blind friend.
"A white liquid", I answered.
"Liquid I know, but what is white?"
"The color of a swan's feathers."
"Feathers I know, but what is a swan?"
"A bird with a crooked neck."
"Neck I know, but what is crooked?"
By that time I had grown impatient and I seized his arm and bent it and I said, "This is crooked". Then I straighten his arm and said, "This is straight."
"Awe", said my blind friend.
"Now I know what you mean by milk."

Thoughts of the Dalai Lama

Thoughts of the Dalai Lama

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon. I also know that dreams really do come true and you have my Best Wishes and my best efforts in those.

In the course of our life...

In the course of our life we leave and are left and let go of much that we love. Losing is the price we pay for living. It is also the source of much of our growth. Making our way from birth to death, we also have to make our way through the pain of giving up some portion of what we cherish.

~ JUDITH VIORST ~

Doubts and Uncertainties

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what's going to happen next.


~ Gilda Radner ~
June 28, 1946 ~ May 20, 1989

Rumi, a Persian Poet

Rumi had the same reverence as Shakespeare had for the beauty of language and the use of language.He was born on September 30th , 1207 and died on December 17th 1273. He was a Persian Poet and eventually settled in Turkey where he lived most of his life. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and was considered a very popular poet in America.

A poem by Rumi: "An Awkward Comparison"

This physical world has no two things alike.
Every comparison is awkwardly rough.
You can put a lion next to a man,
but the placing is hazardous to both.
Say the body is like this lamp.
It has to have a wick and oil. Sleep and food.
If it doesn't get those, it will die,
and it's always burning those up, trying to die.
But where is the sun in this comparison?
It rises, and the lamp's light mixes with the day.
Oneness,
which is the reality, cannot be understood
with lamp and sun images. The blurring
of a plural into a unity is wrong.
No image can describe
what of our fathers and mothers,
our grandfathers and grandmothers, remains.
Language does not touch the one
who lives in each of us.
There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.
With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more
marks on your preserving tablets.
There is another kind of tablet, one
already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It's fluid,
and it doesn't move from outside to inside
through the conduits of plumbing-learning.
This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.

The Importance of Environmental Roots

 * Excerpts from Theodore Isaac Rubin's 1967 book entitled,
The Winner's Notebook .

 To have lived in one place, or at least not to have moved
about excessively, and to have gone to one elementary and to one secondary school is a distinct advantage. People who have moved about a great deal in childhood find it difficult to adjust to adult moves. People who lived in one place and went to one school usually find it easier to adjust to adult moves, other things being equal. This is so because living in one place and going to one school gives the child the needed opportunity to familiarize himself with his environment and friends. This gives him a proper sense of identity and confidence in dealing with his environment. Identity and confidence, as well as a sense of security and well-being, when fed by other necessary later life developments, will be all-important in adjusting to new situations and places and people all of his life. I would like to point out here that environment is much more important to children than it is to adults. Their sense of who they are is not yet formed and the formation of self is infinitely connected to where they are and whom they are with. Therefore, being in one place long enough and with the same people (especially friends) is all-important in developing a feeling of relating to the environment and to developing a self.

The Creation of Personal Boundaries

Why Personal Boundaries Matter
Learning to Create Boundaries for a More Productive Life
Lauren Zander, Chairman, Handel Group
The Handel Group is a global Executive Coaching and Life Coaching company creating personal and professional breakthroughs with clients all over the world.


We hear a lot of talk about the importance of personal boundaries, but somehow we forget to listen. For example, how about the mom who works long hours at the office all week and spends her evenings and weekends caring for her family, with nary a break for herself? And then there’s the dad who always says yes to requests from neighbors, relatives and friends — even when helping them intrudes on his own plans. Life coach and regular Daily Health News contributor Lauren Zander told me that the real reason boundary issues are rampant is because many people fear they’ll be perceived as selfish if they say no to a request. But, in fact, they simply don’t understand what boundaries are… and why they matter.
Lauren started by clarifying what it actually means to “have boundaries.” Boundaries, she says, show that you respect and honor your own needs. Inherent in that, of course, is that you know what your needs are and how to communicate them honestly to the people around you. It doesn’t sound difficult, but life has a way of complicating the matter. “People are enamored with the idea of being loved and appreciated,” says Lauren. “When they get kudos for doing something, the praise and appreciation temporarily override the boundary that performing the action may have crossed.” Take, for instance, a person who can’t say no when the boss makes a special request for a Saturday at exactly the same time as, say, a child’s piano recital. Yes, it is sad to miss the child’s event, but the request from your boss engenders seductive feelings of being important, irreplaceable and needed. You can guess whose need gets met. Another example: The husband who would never take time for himself to play tennis after work or on weekends thrives on the accolades he gets for being so committed — not to mention the bonus of soothing his guilt about how many hours he is away from home during the week. And it’s not just working parents who have boundary issues, but also caregivers with sick spouses or those of us with aging parents who are slavishly committed to meeting the needs of our loved ones, even at the cost of time for ourselves. Truth be told we’re all better caregivers if we set some parameters for taking care of ourselves, too.
However, the issue of personal boundaries is not — or should not be — a judgmental one, says Lauren. At its base it has to do with choice. A martyr, for instance, is the classic example of a person who has no boundaries… always doing for others, never doing for self. But if the martyr genuinely likes leading a life of sacrifice, well then… perhaps that is the right choice for him/her. Boundaries don’t make you a better person, but there is a catch — they will likely help you feel happier, healthier and more fulfilled. “There is something that feels noble about being a martyr,” says Lauren, “but it certainly isn’t any fun. And being a martyr is self-limiting and frustrating — it leaves little room for you to truly experience who you are as a person.”

FINDING YOUR BOUNDARIES
Personal boundaries always involve relationships and they usually have to do with time, says Lauren. Consequently, evolving personal boundaries requires investigating the dynamics of your close relationships. Do you ignore your own wants and desires to meet those of others? Or are your boundaries so powerful your needs always take center stage? (Interestingly, it is a common pattern in marriages for one partner to have few or no boundaries and the other to be demanding, expecting everything to go his/her way.) Many people, though, fall somewhere in between… having some boundaries, but perhaps not enough. Adding several more might well improve the quality of your life.
Perhaps you are thinking, this sounds good, but how do I discover what my unmet needs are? You’re used to living your life this way. You are not alone — fortunately there is an easy way to uncover those unmet desires. When you next become frustrated, annoyed or whiny, take a moment to pay attention to what exactly triggered those dark feelings — the odds are good it tapped your well of unmet needs, says Lauren. This need may not concern anything particularly big or important… it may be as simple as getting an hour for lunch out of the office… or an opportunity to go out with friends every few weeks… or to take a nap on a weekend. A boundary protects something that nurtures and replenishes you and adds to your feeling of having energy for life, rather than being burdened by it.

BOUNDARIES IN ACTION
Once you identify your unmet needs — and determine that you would like to set boundaries to protect them — you will need to discuss this with those who will be affected by it. They need fair warning about changes you will be making. Often a boundary defines a need so small others are quite willing to go along — working parents, for example, often long to be left alone for 30 minutes after work to decompress, while caregivers may need an afternoon off per week to catch up on their own lives. Other boundaries might cause more of a stir. If you can’t bear being responsible for all the household laundry all the time, yes, there will be some moans and groans, but hang in… you have started down an important path to becoming a stronger self.
Boundary setting is an excellent exercise for marriages and other relationships that involve a great deal of interaction. Explain that you are doing an exercise in finding and meeting your personal needs… ask for feedback… and make it a joint project that will benefit you both. Being open about what you want and need will foster closeness, love and respect, says Lauren. Success will require negotiation as well as agreeing to respect and honor the other person’s boundaries, even those that have no meaning for you.
The ability to set boundaries is an important component in designing the kind of life you want. Defending your boundaries helps achieve that goal. It also brings clarity to your identity, your actions and your relationships. And all of this is why boundaries matter.

There is an orderly sequence of events...

There is an orderly sequence of events in the shaping of our lives.
As I think, I make choices.
As I make choices, I form habits.
As I form habits, I fix the direction of my life.
So, If I am to live differently, I must form new habits.
If I am to form new habits, I must make new choices.
If I am to make new choices, I must do new thinking.
It is more important to do your best, than to be the best.

* Patrick O'Dooley speaker at American Airlines Stewardess College 1968

To Plant a Tree and To Watch a Sunset

When you plant a tree, think of it as putting something back into the earth. Most of the time we take from it. Help redress the balance. Plant a new life. Nuture it. Take pleasure in watching it grow. After you plant one, you'll want to plant more. Nurture them. Encourage others to do the same.
From Patrick Lindsay's book, It's Never Too Late...

"Nature never did betray the heart that love her." William Wordsworth

A Sunset is one of nature's greatest wonders. No artist can truly capture its aura. No film can reproduce its splendour. Watch it alone or with a loved one. Drink it in. Feel humble but feel alive. Be inspired by its magnificence.
From Patrick Lindsay's book, It's Never Too Late...

"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it." Confucius

Butterfly & Caterpillar

Love is never lost, not even in death.

I am a parent twice bereaved. In one thirteen-month period I lost my oldest son to suicide and my youngest to leukemia. Grief has taught me many things about the fragility of life and the finality of death. To lose that which means the most to us is a lesson in helplessness and humility and survival. After being stripped of any illusions of control I might have harbored I had to decide what questions were still worth asking. I quickly realized that the most obvious ones ----Why my sons? Why me? ----were as pointless as they were inevitable. Any appeal to fairness was absurd.
I was led by my fellow sufferers, those I loved and those who had also endured irredeemable losses, to find reasons to go on. Like all who mourn I learned an abiding hatred for the word “closure,” with its comforting implications that grief is a time-limited process from which we all recover. The idea that I could reach a point when I would no longer miss my children was obscene to me and I dismissed it. I had to accept the reality that I would never be the same person, that some part of my heart, perhaps the best part, had been cut out and buried with my sons. What was left? Now there was a question worth contemplating.
Gregory Peck, in an interview many years after his son’s death said, “I don’t think of him every day; I think of him every hour of every day.” With time the nature of these thoughts changes, from the lacerating images of illness and dying to softer memories of all that their lives contained.
Grief is a subject I have come to know well. Indeed it was the subject of my life for a long time. I wrote a book about it, trying to find my way around it. What I learned is that there is no way around it; you just have to go through it. In that journey I experienced hopelessness, contemplated suicide, and learned that I wan no alone. Certain that there could be no comfort in words, I came to realize that words, my own and those of others, were all I had to frame my experience, first my despair and finally a fragile belief that my life still had meaning.
Thirteen years later, my sons, though frozen in time, remain a living presence for me. I have, largely, forgiven myself for not being able to save them. I have reconciled myself to growing old without them. They will not, as I once confidently assumed, bury me. I have forsaken any belief in an orderly universe and just God. But I have not relinquished my love for them nor my longing that, against all reason, I will see them again.
This is what passes for hope: those we have lost evoked in us feelings of love that we didn’t know we were capable of. These permanent changes are their legacies, their gifts to us. It is our task to transfer that love to those who still need us. In this way we remain faithful to their memories.

At my daughter’s wedding I borrowed some thoughts from Mark Helprin and constructed the following toast:

The love between parents and children depends heavily on forgiveness. It is our imperfections that mark us a human and our willingness to tolerate them in our families and ourselves redeems the suffering to which all love makes us vulnerable. In happy moments such as this we celebrate the miracle of two people who found each other and created new lives together. If love can indeed overcome death, it is only through the exercise of memory and devotion. Memory and devotion…with it your heart, though broken, will be full and you will stay in the fight to the very last.

From the National Best Seller, Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart,
by Gordon Livingston, M.D.
Chapter 22: Love is never lost, not even in death.

It's never too late to play golf

It's a challenge of the mind and body.
It's like life...it's not fair...
and you never completely master it.
But that's the lure...
each round is a new adventure,
a tantalising test of your skill and patience.
But don't expect too much too soon.
Very few golfers are naturals.
Take lessons or you'll just practise your mistakes.
One good shot will bring you back for the next try.
Once you're hooked, you can
play for the rest of your life.

patrick lindsay

"Golf is a good walk spoiled." Mark Twain

To Remember

Our memories are a treasure trove-
our living photo album.
All the pivotal moments are captured there.
Even some we've jammed into the dark recesses.
Take time to visit your memories.
Spool through them.
Enjoy them.
Be sobered by them.
Learn from them.
Then add to them.

Patrick Lindsay

"The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten."
Cesare Pavese

Explanation of Life

On the first day, God created the dog and said:
"Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years."
The dog said: "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"
So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:
"Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."
The monkey said: "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?"
And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said: "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family For this, I will give you a life span of sixty Years."
The cow said: "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"
And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:
"Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years." But man said: "Only twenty years ? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"

"Okay," said God, "You asked for it."
So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.

The Life Of Flowers in Two Timed Lapsed Videos

COPY and PASTE into your browser. Mute any Sidebar Music prior to watching.

http://youtu.be/N1X5fReUmqY

and

http://youtu.be/pkYclqLKs_k

Herman Melville

"The world is a white canvas on which we paint our own story."
From the story of Moby Dick