“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain.
Summertime arrives, and many of us travel near and far, and that’s great. As our world gets smaller and smaller, and seemingly crazier, an escape, an adventure, a mind opening experience, a new path, all seem appropriate.
Find a new table in a new spot
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber
The journey might be five minutes away or 5,000 miles-both count and both matter.
Spread your wings, fly, walk, run, ride (whatever is your pleasure) and discover your destination.
(Note-background is from the series of illustration backgrounds that I am creating for Book #2 – Working Title of Garden Bud – stay tuned!)
Feeling a bit soggy? Here are a few ideas of ways to make a rainy day better.
Zoie – Spring Rain
Don’t think of it as cold wet water: Think SPRING FLOWERS! 💐🌿🌻🌸
Here’s a list of ideas for spring shower happiness.
💦 Pretend you are two years old and go splash in puddles-I know a very special little one that this works well for!
💦 Enjoy some artwork. Galleries, museums, or exhibits are all luxurious and wonderful places to forget it’s raining outside.
💦 There’s always the movies.
💦 Meet a friend for a cup, or glass, of whatever makes you smile.
💦 Plan a rain barrel for your garden, then the next time it rains you will be receiving bonus water!
💦 Gray is much better than black. Look outside-gray is probably everywhere and Mother Nature is usually is pretty smart! Maybe Gray still is the new black?
💦 Gray is a subdued and quiet color so crawl into that: Tuck yourself in and enjoy a good read with a hot cup of tea/coffee. Or just nap!
💦 Remember that rain is not frozen, or slippery, and it requires no shoveling.
💦 Learn new things. For instance- Did you know that the iconic crayon color, Dandelion, will be retiring? To send him off in style, Crayola is taking him on a 4-week retirement tour! VERY clever marketing and fun to watch. Here’s the link. https://youtu.be/WSBaRK1BM3Q (BYW – today 3/31/17 is National Crayon Day…who knew?)
AND OF COURSE – there is always “Singing in the Rain” with Gene Kelly!
Today is a holiday to celebrate water! Yesterday, I got to see the Atlantic Ocean and water everywhere-it was wonderful. Water has a way of southing and nourishing my soul, my spirits and my heart all at once. We are lucky here and water abounds. I drink many glasses a day of water. Water flows out of the spigot easily for so many uses almost as if by magic. It’s without much thought to the availability, and ease, of that fabulous water that my daily routine flows each day.
However, World Water Day is a serious issue. I like the way Time Magazine featured it-so I will give you the first bit here, and then send you all over to the article for the rest.
A holiday for H2O
Sunday is World Water Day, a United Nations initiative to celebrate clean water and bring attention to those who don’t have enough of it. A new report released ahead of World Water Day warns about a looming shortage, and centers on this year’s theme: water and sustainable development.
(I’ll give you a hint as the five: food, females, and of course- poop- but it’s not what you think. By the way, on the last one, check out the astronauts, they and Bill Gates have this “recycle” process in common!)
Another great site and easy to absorb (ha ha) info is from UNWater. It’s a great presentation of water and the worlds needs. http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday
I close this post with MOE- Botanical Beauties Minister of Clean Water.
He has water-breathing gills and can travel in the seas for as long as needed. He and his family can adapt to sea or land as needed. This makes Moe’s job as Minister of Clean Water a natural for him. As he swims, he performs water tests, makes notations of underwater spots of beauty and reports on problem areas. Unfortunately, these areas are more common than he would like to see. He strives to help in any way he can, for he is aware that it all starts with ONE person, or in this case one Botanical Fish.
I have been thinking about water, waves, the sounds of the waves, the oceans roar, and then back to the stillness that water can have. The ebb and flow of it all. It’s almost magical how the water flows in and out of the sea onto the sand, continually restoring itself, and laps up on the shore again. Continual replenishment! If only it were that easy for us. Maybe it is? The other two big topics on my mind lately are happiness and friendships. The connection to all this is I actually got to go to the beach/ocean, and share three days with three wonderful friends. We laughed a lot, and a few tears were shed as well. Some were caused because we were laughing so hard, and some were of sadness – all were water! All good. All cleansing. All replenishing to the soul. It was truly a respite for us all- the ocean, the warmth, the love of such close friends, the good times, the sounds, the sunshine, even the rain, the whole “ball of wax.” It took us almost 2 years to finally make that weekend happen- it was worth the wait. (Thanks to- you know who you are! ) The above large Horseshoe Crab had washed up to the shore along with about 15 others- I have never seen anything quite like it? All within about 50 feet of each other, and only in that one spot? We were wondering if they were all coming ashore to lay eggs? Again, the cycles of the water, the ocean. How odd that these animals had to bump, jostle and wait for the next wave to make their way to the beach sand. I’m sure their is a life analogy in that somewhere!
Added to the top layer of the above image is another image- this one of a 17th century piece/fountain head- spouting water. The face made me smile for the expression of the eyes, and eyebrows are most amazing. And yet, it fits- it somehow all ties into the fluidity of life, the water that we all need to sustain ourselves. The flow, the rhythm, the cold, the hot, the ocean, the water glass, the shower, the cup of tea/coffee, the waves, the sounds-and back to the oceans roar. An amazing face, a spiky crab, and Moe (Minister of Clean Water in my magical land of Botaniumaus.) All beauties to me…but as we know-Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I am pretty sure the same is true for sounds. Crashing, jumping, or gentle waves-sounds that truly soothe my soul. What’s your soul soothing sound?