Water

Blog 74 …

     Attention, mine, could easily be diverted, I discovered.  After using the tap one morning, something not too important (I couldn’t recall now what it was!), must have pulled away my concentration; I let the tap run water, not just for a minute or so, but a whole hour!  Jitters and guilt ran my back and brain, and rightfully so.  “What was so important out there that pulled me away?  What triggered my mind to wander from the use of the water still running?  Why had I not turned it off before I jumped into some other obscure act?” I inwardly searched and searched, but no distinct answer popped out of my head.  Carelessly or intentionally leaving water running crazily that way was a horrific and unwise use of essential resource.  One mustn’t let it ever get wasted. Without potable water, we’d all be in a mess.  We’d suffer from dehydration.  We’d acquire all sorts of physical trouble that require clean water to keep our body healthy.  Preparing food would be in a sham without it.  Countless chores in the homes and all over the community depend on clean water.  There are businesses and ecosystems that would fall apart without safe water source.  Even far and more important, a small amount of clean water would quench every thirst.  My pointlessly and mindlessly wasting water today should never ever happen again!

Offerings

Blog 73 …

Whether something freely handed to you brings material, spiritual, or emotional blessing, you must wholeheartedly accept the gift.  You must never refuse it for any and all reasons.  There’s no need to be overwhelmed by someone’s kindness, goodness or cheerfulness.  There’s no room for feelings of guilt over a gift.  There’s no need to worry about paths to returning the gift either.  There’s nothing wrong in sharing and enjoying the bounty of someone’s harvest.  People give out of abundance, you know.  Many people give out of their heart’s generosity. They know well how equally blessed they are, so they put in practicevery the very act of giving.   When people especially give even as they themselves hurt by so doing, cherish the gift more.  It is the greatest of all giving and receiving.  You must highly treasure and value the gift by all means, but equally more important is that you also find a way, in time, to spread and multiply the blessings it brought you today!

Work&Laze

Blog 72 …

Work, that which requires and takes energy to complete, comes and lingers even when not beckoned.  It is always asking to touch it, give it attention, figure it, troubleshoot it, stay at it; especially, it asks, “Finish me … now!”  Work that demands your focus could be light enough, such as taking the garbage bin out.  Work that’s a bit more tedious to do could include packing a house, doing laundry, or tending the garden.  It sometimes takes many steps to finish tasks; there are problem-solving, sorting, and organizing involved in every step of the way.  A more labor-intensive work, a fencing project, for example, could get you not only engaged for many hours, but it also could wring out body sweat and pain.  For what it entails, patience, for instance,  work, however, is emotionally and physically sweet once completed.  It is deserving of all-time coveted lazing, dozing and relaxing … at a favorite hammock or lounging chair ... with critters that shower you with love after essential work is finally done! 

 

Get Home

Blog 71 …

Geographical movement is as much ‘being there’ as ‘getting there’.  There’s no doubting over it.  There could not be ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ about it.  You could not just elect to transport your belongings from one spot to another without convincing yourself that their transfer to a new place implies your complete mindset and acceptance of the ‘move’.  You could not fake it.  You could not even try only going with the flow of things from one point to point.  It behooves you to emotionally and physically commit to the task.  You must openly say goodbye to your belongings and “old home”, and then take in all the good memories they gave you.  You must afterwards fully cheer up, build hopes high, and likewise embrace the new experiences you are about to absorb in your new surroundings … in your “home-to-be”.  You must wholeheartedly “get there, and accept being there”!

Gifts

Blog 70 …

     Whether you’re walking briskly for health or you’re walking slowly for leisure around a park and your favorite trail, you open up yourself to nature’s surprises.  You get to behold a Cardinal swoop and alight at a bush right in front of you as if saying, “Welcome to the neighborhood!”  You can’t help stopping and noting that bunched blossoming cacti at a residential entrance way.  Spanning while keeping your pace, you spot bright yellow blossoms in someone’s garden where a lone sleepy young watermelon, still attached to its nourishing vine, surprises you.  You feel beyond blessed catching at the right moment a brown and white spotted foot-long winged creature’s flight from a tree branch to a wind vane’s tip atop a house roof.  You walk, and keep on walking craving for more of nature’s gifts along the way.  “What a marvelous world to enjoy,” you whisper.  What wonderful sights to keep inside you for rainy days you could not be out in God’s natural world!

Guardians&Play

Blog 69 …

 

  
     Work and play … we must mix the two.  Engaging in play after or before a day’s work is a must.  It brings back our youthful and carefree times.  It frees us, even momentarily, from adult responsibilities.  Playing with creatures-of-the-lesser kind takes us a notch higher in living fuller lives.  We rise above other humans when we learn and practice play with them every day.  We learn to relax and go easy with our lives.  When we co-exist with them, and care not only about their physical health, but also their emotional health, we embolden our resolve to robustly care for us too.  When we act as responsible caretakers, we get back and enjoy their affection.  Our pets do not materially require much.  Beyond all we could give them, engaging them and us in play is best not only for their happiness, but also for our abundant living!

 

Bursts

Blog 68 …

Colors appear brightly and lively everywhere your eyes turn.  Yellow, green, purple, and pink buds rise to their blossoming season.  Evergreens show off their buds and don their freshest and best greens yet.  Magnolias unfold their white, sweet flora.  Crepe Myrtles stretch their branches loaded with white, pink and red florets.  Rose bushes multiply their yellow, orange, and white blooms.   Grasses stately stretch their bodies to vastly carpet-green the landscape.  All over, as if in contest one with another, butterflies flutter and dance, cicadas sing, lightning bugs flicker, bees honey-suck, and birds loudly sing.  Nature puts on its grandiose sounds and splendid colors.  It explodes in gaiety.  Summer frolicking and celebration are here again!