Going Home

Thought for the day: You can't go home again, because home has ceased to exist except in the mothballs of memory.  [John Steinbeck]

[image courtesy of morguefile]

Do you think that's true?

Is a yearning to go home nothing but useless nostalgia for a place that no longer exists?

And what IS home, anyway? Is it the place we came from... or is it the place we live now? Or perhaps we're like turtles, and no matter where we go, we take home with us?

[courtesy of morguefile}

I kinda agree with the concept that home is where the heart is... but what if our heart aches for a different place... where we once lived, or maybe someplace we'd like to live?

Well, then I reckon we have to suck it up, cupcake, and make the best of it.

But not always.

[image courtesy of Two Oceans Aquarium]

Meet Yoshi, a loggerhead turtle. Evidently, no one told HER you can't go home again.

In 1997, some Japanese fishermen found her... injured... off the coast of South Africa, and they took her to the fine folks at Two Oceans Aquarium, where she was treated, rehabilitated and trained to regain her strength. As she grew, she quickly became a crowd favorite at the aquarium.

                                   Here's a video of her at the aquarium in 2014:
     

                                             Um, yeah, she grew quite a bit over the years.

                                  In December of 2017, she was released back into the wild:

That gizmo on her back is a satellite tracking device. You know, so the folks at the aquarium... and around the world... could track her travels. And WOW! What a journey that ol' gal's been on.

[image courtesy of Two Oceans Aquarium]

The green marker indicates the place where she was released into the wild. From there, she headed up the west coast of Africa near Namibia and Angola. Then she turned around, went back to the area she'd been released and then headed across the Indian Ocean.

For the past 26 months, she's been swimming, swimming, swimming. Her destination? Evidently, to a loggerhead breeding and nesting area off the coast of Australia. This determined loggerhead turtle has doggedly swam more than 23,000 miles... without a break. Now that's determination. Could it be that the breeding ground is the place she was hatched... her home? Seems like an amazing possibility, doesn't it? After being in captivity for twenty years, something guided her to those breeding grounds.

[image courtesy of morguefile]

I like to think that she has, indeed, returned home.

At any rate, her journey is the longest, both in distance and longevity, that a tracking device has recorded.

She's quite the star. And hopefully, she'll be laying eggs of her own next breeding season.

Home is where one starts from. [T.S. Eliot]

No matter where you are, no matter where you may go, embrace that place, and I believe you will always feel... at home.

                                    Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Know How to Play 'Em

Thought for the day: Never play poker with the world's fastest animal, because he's a cheetah.

[image courtesy of morguefile]

You like to play cards? It's been far too long since I've played, but I never met a card game I didn't enjoy. Before I started school, playing poker taught me how to count. (Took me a while to stop saying jack after ten, though... HA! Just kidding. Sorta.)

Tell ya what. We're going to play a virtual game of cards today, and what's more... we're all gonna win, because I'm dealing us all the same hand. We're going to consider five different things, and I'm gonna assign a value to each one. (Hey! My blog, my rules!)

The key to success is playing the hand you were dealt like it was the hand you wanted.

[image: wikipedia]

Recognize this flower? It's a lotus blossom. Gorgeous, isn't it? Can you imagine a building designed in the image of one of these beautiful flowers?

Imagine it no more, because I'm going to show you such a thing. It's the Wujen Lotus Conference Center in China. This breathtaking building rises above a two-story subterranean municipal facility that lies beneath a man-made lake. The lotus part of the building houses part of the city's planning bureau, as well as some meeting rooms and conference centers. I declare this building to be our ACE. Rather than show you a mere static shot of our top card, how about a short video?

Now for our KING: I reckon 75-year old John Brooker, of Norfolk, England, was getting a wee bit bored with life as a retiree. So he spent thirteen years shaping a one-hundred foot dragon from his ten-foot tall privet hedge. What a guy, huh? (He can trim our hedges any ol' time... and there's no need for anything fancy, either. I'm happy if they're more or less the the same height...)

[image: wikipedia, courtesy of Schwedde66]

And now for our QUEEN.

The Golden Bridge, near DaNang, Vietnam, which opened earlier this year, is a footbridge connecting a cable car station to the gardens at Ba Na Hill resort. Two giant stone hands rise from the ground, as though Mother Nature herself were supporting it.

Our fourth card is a TEN. For a pair of SHOES, you  might wonder? Nope, for the company that makes them. In March of this year, Adidas announced that it had sold its millionth pair of Ultraboost shoes. (AKA ten to the sixth power...) Big deal, you say? After all, look at all the mediocre burgers McD's has managed to sell, right? But there's something different about these shoes. Something special. Believe it or not, they're made of salvaged ocean trash. In 2016, Adidas partnered with Parley for the Oceans, a global network of researchers seeking ways to rescue our oceans, and each pair of Ultraboost shoes is made from eleven discarded plastic bottles that were removed from our oceans, beaches, and coastal communities. One shoe at a time, one step at a time, they're making a difference.

Our last card is a...JOKER. A wild card... but we can make it a jack to complete our winning royal flush.

It's the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, and it's the tallest unfinished skyscraper in the world. Shaped like a pyramid, this 105-story, 1080-foot behemoth was begun in 1987, with much fanfare, of course, but construction came to an abrupt halt in 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union. Like a giant abandoned ghost, it loomed over the city without windows or any interior work until 2008, when an infusion of money from Egyptian Orascom Telecommunications enabled the construction to begin anew. The exterior was finally completed in 2011, and a partial grand opening was announced for 2013, but it never happened. Still hasn't happened. Still isn't finished. Mysteries linger over whether it will ever open, or if more than a handful of people will ever get a peek inside. It sits dark and ominous, with nothing but a single night light at its tips to alert airplane pilots to its lurking presence.

So there ya have it... our winning royal flush. Come to think of it, in a way, life is kinda like a card game. To win big, you have to stifle your fear and go all in every once in a while. Sure, there are times it'd be easier to give up, to simply fold rather than to play the hand you've been dealt, but you can't win if you don't play. Believe in yourself. Think life has been stacking the deck against you? Nah, life's no four flusher... it's not a cheetah. But when the chips are down, only you can decide if what you want is worth the effort. Maybe, instead of folding, you should up the ante and try even harder. As far as the future goes, it's full of wild cards, because we never know for sure what's coming, but we do have the power to make of it what we will. One thing for sure: as far as value goes, you guys are all blue chips. Every single one of you, and THAT... you can bet on!

                               Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the game. [Randy Pausch, professional poker player]

Oops! Mistaeks Happen

Thought for the day:    Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself. [Groucho Marx]                                 

Hi-ya. Welcome to this month's edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group meeting... er, virtual meeting, that is. This, the first Wednesday of the month, is the time when writers all over the world post about the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the ins and outs... of writing. We celebrate... we complain... we commiserate. Whatever we need, this is the place to find it. Humble thanks and a jolly tip of the hat go to Alex Cavanaugh, our fearless ninja leader and the originator of this fine group. If you'd like to join (It's FREE!) or would like to read some of the other posts, please go HERE

This month, we're gonna talk about making mistakes. I am the author of my life. Unfortunately, I'm writing in pen, and I can't erase my mistakes. [author unknown]

It's true. I do write in pen, but I don't worry about erasing anything. However, my process involves a lot of scratching out and writing in the margins.

[image: morguefile]

When Smarticus and I were on our way to Alabama to visit our son and his family, an overturned truck on the other side of the highway turned drivers into parkers for miles... and miles... and miles. (And miles!) No telling how long traffic had been stopped, but judging by the number of people mulling around outside their vehicles, it must've been pretty long. When we finally got past the blockage and saw those poor unsuspecting drivers blithely heading for the unexpected misery ahead, I wanted to yell, Go baaaack!

Not that they could've heard me, poor things.

Evi-doggone-dently, some writers feel the same about writing: If you have any young friends who aspire to be writers, the second best favor your can do them is to present them with copies of 'The Elements of Style.' The greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they're happy. [Dorothy Parker]

That's a bit extreme, but she does have a point. Without a doubt, there's plenty of joy to be found in writing, but there are a heckuva lot of unexpected traffic jams, too. The competition to carve out a comfortable spot in the writing world is fierce. It seems like bazillions of writers are scrambling to find an agent and/or publisher, and even more bazillions are self-publishing thousands and thousands of books every day. Sometimes it feels like all the other writers are flying down the superhighway in the other direction at a hundred and ten, while I'm still stuck behind an overturned truck. In all of those miles and miles and miles (And miles!) of aspiring writers stuck on the highway with me... how's a gal to get ahead? I don't want anyone to shoot me, but maybe it would be smart to simply... take the next available exit, sit back, and enjoy a nice strawberry shake. Or at the very least, take a detour. I'm getting too old for this crap.

Nah! A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. [George Bernard Shaw]

Man, I must have honor and usefulness out the wazoo, because I'm a whiz kid when it comes to making mistakes. But like Albert Einstein said, Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

 As you might have guessed, in a roundabout way, this month's question is about mistakes. It is: What pitfalls would you warn other writers to avoid on their publication journey?

For me personally, my biggest mistake was putting off writing for so many years. I let the busyness of life, the child-raising, all the myriad volunteer activities and club memberships, etc. stand in the way.  I always figured I'd get serious about writing... later... and now, boyohboy, it's later, all right. So my advise would be to just do it, already! Don't fall into the trap of thinking you've got plenty of time. This isn't a dress rehearsal, and as far as we know, this is the only life we have, so if you truly want to write... write, doggone it!

You can't wait for inspiration to strike. You have to go after it with a club. [Jack London]

Other pitfalls, which fall into a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do category:

• Don't worry about making your first draft perfect. Just get the words down, and worry about editing it later. (I could write OH so much faster if I could make myself follow this.)
• Once your baby is published, don't obsess over sales and reviews. Let it toddle off into the world on its own... and get to work writing something else. (Not that I, ahem, check them every day... or twice a day... or anything like that...)
• Don't take it personally when someone doesn't like something you've written. (As Megan Fox so eloquently put it, Hold your head high and your middle finger higher.) Just kidding. But face it: not everyone will like your book, because there's no accounting for taste. Heck, some people don't like steak or lobster...
• If writing is your dream, never give it up. Philip Roth said, The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress. That could be, but don't let that happen to you. If you love what you're writing, keep on writing! The going may be rough at times, but it's well worth it to finally cross the finish line. 

Don't carry your mistakes around with you. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as stepping stones to rise above them. [author unknown]

Works for me! My stepping stones are currently stacked so high, they look like a Stairway to Heaven...

                      Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Boughing to the Wonder of Trees

Thought for the day: Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf. [Albert Schweitzer]

[Thanks to Icanhascheezburger.com for permission to use this pic]

Albert Schweitzer was one of my childhood heroes, so it's good to know I have something in common with him.

I love trees. I love them for their beauty, their diversity, their tenacity, and their strength. For the fruit and nuts they provide, the blessed shelter of their shade on a hot day, and for the gift they give us of cleaner air and water.

(ahem) In the spirit of full disclosure, it is, however, possible that I may have said an unkind word or two in the past when raking up a bazillion leaves or stepping on one of those... blessed... weapons, AKA gumballs, littering our front yard. But that's beside the point. I still love trees.They're some of the longest-living and most marvelous wonders in the world.

Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky. [Kahlil Gebran]

Although a gentle breeze rustling through their leaves sometimes sounds suspiciously like laughter, I seriously doubt if trees have a sense of humor. Then again, maybe they do. It'd be perfectly oak-ay if they bark with laughter at us silly people for raking up their leaves, even though it isn't a very poplar job and is sometimes over-elming.

Dogwood trees would make awesome pets, dontcha think? They have a nice bark, but they wooden ever bite.

And maybe redwood trees tell tall tales.

What did the beaver say to the tree? It's been nice gnawing ya.

Oak-ay, I'll stop before I make an ash of myself and yew guys get even sycamore of me and my puns. (Even though you're kinda aspen for it... after all, it's a risk you take whenever you visit my blog.) But let's talk about some amazing trees, shall we? Cedar are lots of things to say about trees that don't include bad puns. (Sorry. Last one.) (What a releaf, huh? Oops... sorry! Oak-kay, I'm done now...)

[image courtesy of seniorark]

Even if they don't have a sense of humor, trees do communicate. When asked how many miles it was to the nearest town, look how the helpful tree in this picture responded.

Okay, so that's a lie. But trees really do communicate. For example, when a willow tree is attacked by webworms, it emits a chemical that warns other willows, which triggers them to produce more tannin so their leaves are harder for those worms to digest, thus protecting them from infestation.

[image courtesy of wikipedia]

Giant sequoias earned that name. Some of them are more than thirty stories tall and greater than 82 feet in diameter.

In 2006, scientists discovered a coast redwood that was 379 feet tall, which they estimated to be 700 to 800 years old. They named it Hyperion, but to this day, they've never revealed its exact location. Why? They're afraid it'd cause such an influx of tourists, it could upset the ecosystem.

So essentially, what may be the tallest tree in the world... is in hiding.

As soon as a redwood is cut down or burned, it sends up a crowd of eager, hopeful shoots, which, if allowed to grow, would in a few decades attain a height of a hundred feet, and the strongest of them would finally become giants as great as the original tree. [John Muir]

[image courtesy of Leonard Chapel]

And redwoods aren't the only ones. From this fallen tree, supine on the forest floor, grow four new trees... living examples of hope and resiliency.

A few minutes ago, every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. [John Muir]

[image courtesy of wikipedia]

Some bristlewood pines, as shown in the photo above, are believed to be the oldest trees in the world, and at nearly 5000 years old, the one named Methuselah has been deemed the oldest. But in 1964, a grad student, in pursuit of his research project, got permission from the Forestry Department to cut down one of these trees in the Great Basin National Park in Nevada. It turned out that the tree was over 4950 years old, and at the time, Methuselah was only 4803. So sadly, the student not only found the oldest tree in the world; he killed it. The tree was later named Prometheus, and a cross section of its trunk is on display at the park's visitor center... as well at some other research centers around the country.

[credit: Beatriz Verdugo, UA News]

This seven-foot cross section of Prometheus hangs on the wall of the University of Arizona's Laboratory of Tree Ring Research.

Most people know that tree rings reveal the age of a tree, but they also provide information about environmental changes, which is what the student researcher was studying.

You've probably heard that most moss grows on the shadier side of trees, which means in the northern hemisphere, it's more abundant on the northern side of trees, and in the southern hemisphere, on the south. This knowledge can come in handy when someone gets lost in the woods. Also, the tree rings can reveal directional info, as well. I'm not suggesting you fell a tree, but if you look at a stump, the thickest rings will appear on the sunny side of the stump. (i.e. on the southern side in the northern hemisphere, and the northern side in the southern hemisphere.) Then again, you could be like me. Discerning which direction is north doesn't necessarily mean I'd know which way to go.

[image courtesy of seniorark]

That's why I prefer to rely on helpful trees like this one.


(Actually, I rely on Smarticus. That man has an uncanny sense of direction.)

[source: wikipwedia]

Our back yard used to be graced with a gorgeous live oak tree. Our whole family loved that tree.  Unfortunately, it was struck by a mighty bolt of lightning about thirty years ago, and the tree lost.

It was a massive tree, and a fantastic tree for climbing, but it wasn't as huge as this tree. This live oak tree is the famous Angel Oak, located near Charleston, South Carolina.

[source: wikimedia commons]

These gnarly moss-covered trees look positively primordial, don't they? They're antarctic beech trees, mostly native to Chile and Argentina.

[source: wikipedia]

The ta primh temple in Angkor, Cambodia was built in the late 12th to early 13th centuries, and it was later abandoned in the 15th century. As more centuries passed, the jungle crept closer and closer and merged more and more with the buildings. This century, efforts have been made to conserve and restore the temple, but as much as possible, workers are retaining the eerie marriage between buildings and trees.

[source: wikimedia commons]

These windswept trees of New Zealand withstand incredibly strong and inhospitable winds. But they don't give up. Their growth patterns adapt to the conditions.

[source: wikimedia commons]

This amazing tree, dubbed the Tree of Life, lives in Olympic National Park, Washington. It seems to defy the laws of gravity and the all expectations for what a tree needs to survive. But survive it does.

[credit: Leonard Chapel]

As does this one... still clinging to life, against all odds.

[credit: Leonard Chapel]

And this one... growing out the third floor window of an abandoned building.

[credit: Leonard Chapel]

Beauty and strength rising from a rock.

[credit: Leonard Chapel]

How is this even possible?

Must be something akin to sheer determination and a stubborn refusal to give up. If it had a motto, it would be, Where there is life, there is  hope.

[credit: Leonard Chapel]

How about that? Evidently, some trees are music lovers, too. (I sure hope nobody thinks about Chopin that tree down...)

[credit: Leonard Chapel]

Wow! This palm tree is quite the non-conformist. And another example of doggedly rising above adversity. There's evidence of trauma there, but that tree is still standing tall.

Okay, I'm pining to share more pictures with you, but this post is getting too long, so I'd better leaf.

If you share my love of trees, you might enjoy the book Remarkable Trees of the World, by Thomas Parkenham. It's chock full of fascinating information and breathtaking photographs. Best present my big brother ever gave me!

                                   Hey! Whattaya know? Trees DO have a sense of humor!

                                   Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.
                                                        Pssst! May the forest be with you. 

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself. [William Blake]

Just a side branch reminder: Every comment you make on my blog this month earns you a chance to win a signed copy of my newest book. Mention it on your blog, and earn another two chances.

{P.S. ALF says the book is... outta this world!)

Finding Joy in Success

Thought for the day: That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it, as well. [Abraham Lincoln]

[image courtesy of Morguefile]

Achieving a goal and reaching some level of success is worth celebrating, but not just when it's a personal achievement. I think we should cheer for everybody's successes. If, as John Donne said, No man is an island, and any man's death diminishes me, shouldn't it also be true that appreciation for the achievements of others can elevate us, as well?

That explains why so many of us get such a thrill out of watching athletes accomplish feats far beyond our own abilities, and why so many of us swell with joy when in the presence of great art. We marvel and maybe even feel a teensy bit of pride at these wondrous achievements of mind and body. There's even a word for it. Buddhists call it Mudita, which essentially means finding joy in the happiness and success of others.

Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible. [Albert Einstein]

Today, we're going to look at the impossible achievements of some amazing men. There's an old Swedish proverb that says, The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm. But... what if there is no arm...?

What some may consider a catastrophe, others consider a challenge.

[photo from Army Medical Museum]

Consider Civil War veteran Samuel Decker. While reloading his gun in 1862, it misfired and took off the lower part of both of his arms.

So what did he do?

By 1865, he'd designed and overseen the building of his own state-of-the-art prosthetic arms. With the help of his invention, he could dress himself, feed himself, write, and even pick up objects as small as a pin.

[photo from Army Medical Museum]

In 1867, he was invited to the Army Medical Museum, where these photographs were taken to document him and his ahead-of-his-time invention.

Think his story is amazing? Wait until you hear about a young man who currently lives in Andorra...

[photo from Mirror Online]

For as long as he can remember, David Aguilar, like many other children around the world, has loved playing with LEGO® blocks. But David is a little different from most of the other children... he was born with a profoundly deformed arm.

So what did he do?

At the age of nine, he made his first LEGO® prosthetic arm.

It wasn't as successful as he would've liked. Not strong enough.

But he didn't give up.

In recent months, this enterprising 19-year old young man, who dubs himself Hand Solo, built another much more sophisticated... and stronger... arm from LEGO® building blocks.

What the mind can conceive and  believe, and the heart desire, you can achieve. [Norman Vincent Peale]

                                                                          Wanta see?

                                                    Doesn't that make you feel... good?

Wait! That's not all! A gentleman named Carlos Arturo Torres invented a LEGO® kit for children to build their own totally cool prosthetic arms! He said the idea was to take away the stigma of being different and make the prosthetic fun for children to wear, and the kits he donated to some children in need of them were resoundingly successful. In 2016, his IKO Creative Prosthetic System won the Grand Prix at Netexpo, an innovation summit held in Paris, and the hope was to release this kit commercially sometime in 2017. Unfortunately, I haven't found any indication that this has happened as of yet. But maybe soon...?

So does this give you a whole new perspective on those annoying little blocks that hurt like Hades when you step on them in the middle of the night in your bare feet? Yep, there's a whole inspirational world of possibilities and millions of things I will never build with LEGO®, but let's rejoice at the things other people have accomplished with them and applaud every other wondrous human accomplishment. Why? Because life isn't a competition. We're all on the same team. It's mudita, baby.

There is strength in numbers. When the bricks stick together, great things can be accomplished. [Steve Klusmeyer]

                    And that's true, whether talking about building blocks... or people.

                           Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Quitting is a No-Win Option

Thought for the day: Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul. [Douglas MacArthur]

[image from Morguefile]

I did it. I wrote those two magical words at the bottom of my WIP, the words that turn writers into conquering heroes and make them feel like marching through the streets with a brass band while cheering fans shower them with tons of chocolate-flavored confetti: THE END!!!

(ahem) Unfortunately, I haven't actually finished writing the book; I just had an irrepressible urge to type those two too-wonderful words... (sigh)

I fully expected to be finished this first draft by now, but my characters are dragging their feet, and the book is running longer than I expected. The light is definitely shining at the end of the tunnel, though, and as best I can tell, it isn't an oncoming train. It's the actual end of the book. Soon. Surely, the THE END will be for real before next month's IWSG post. If not, maybe I should quit writing and take up sky diving.

Right. As you can tell, it's that time of the month again. On the first Wednesday of every month, members of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, founded by ninja writer Alex Cavanaugh, blog about the ups and downs of writing. Within this worldwide group of writers resides an endless supply of support and understanding. Here, successes are celebrated, set-backs are commiserated, and the encouragement to keep on keeping on is ever-present.

If you'd like to join this fine group, or if you'd like to follow the links to find other posts, please go HERE

Now then, on to this month's question: Did you ever say 'I quit'? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?

Hmmmmph. I'm not a quitter. I might stop doing something for a while, but I'm not a quitter. I categorically refuse to say those words. It's all about attitude.

For example, when I was pregnant with our oldest child, I took a leave of absence from my job at the hospital. I never officially quit... I simply never went back. Seeing's as how we live in a different state and our son is about to turn forty-six, I don't think there's any need to tender a resignation. Therefore... my no-quitting designation is still good.

[image from Morguefile]

When it comes to writing, or any other pursuit, for that matter, I think of my interests as following a pleasant pattern of ebb and flow.  Just because I'm not doing something at this particular moment in my life doesn't mean I've quit doing it for good, or that I'll never do it again. (Who knows? Maybe I'll even take up macrame again someday...) Taking a break from something is not the same thing as quitting. I'm currently enjoying an 8-year break from smoking, but I dare not say I've quit. (Don't wanta jinx myself.)

So, to answer the question, NO, I have never said I quit, and I've never quit writing. It may have been put on the back burner a time or two, but it has never ever been taken off the stove altogether. I mean, I can hold my breath for a little while, too, but that doesn't mean I plan to quit breathing. Not yet, anyway. I still have a book to finish. The next time I write this glorious word at the bottom of my manuscript, it's gonna be for REAL.

[image from morguefile]

                                    Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.  

                            

Lessons from a Butterfly

Thought for the day: What a caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly. [Richard Bach]

[image by Leonard Chapel]

Most of us have seen monarch butterflies, but have you ever seen a monarch caterpillar? Its colors are so pretty, it's easy to imagine what a big beautiful butterfly he'll be one day, isn't it?

If he's lucky.

Not all butterflies are.



Time for a story...

Once upon a time, a very well-meaning lady with a loving heart was taking a hike through the woods, when she came upon a butterfly cocoon that was about to open.

"How lovely!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight. "I'll stay and watch."

Breathlessly, she watched as a tiny hole finally appeared in the cocoon, and then for hours, she continued to watch as the butterfly struggled to force its body through that tiny hole.

Then, as though it were too exhausted to continue any longer, the butterfly stopped struggling and just sat in its cocoon, motionless.

"Oh, no," the well-meaning lady with the kind heart said. "I've got to help him!"

So she pulled out her pocketknife and ever-so-carefully enlarged the opening in the cocoon.

Thanks to her help, the exhausted butterfly easily emerged, but its body was small and withered, and its wings were shriveled.

The well-meaning lady with the kind heart continued to watch the butterfly, anxiously waiting for its big beautiful wings to flutter open and expand.

But they never did.

The butterfly lived out his life with a withered body and shriveled wings. Its wings never grew strong enough to support the weight of his body... and he never flew.

See, the struggle to emerge from a cocoon is necessary for a butterfly's development. Squeezing through a tiny opening forces the fluid out of its body and into its wings, making them strong and ready for flight.

Without completing that struggle, the butterfly can't fly.

You see what I'm getting at? The moral of the story? The lessons to be learned? Two things. First, before we impose our well-meaning help on another creature or person, we should know that our help is genuinely needed and/or wanted. Sometimes, the kindest thing... and the hardest thing...we can do is to stand by and offer support, while our friend overcomes his challenges on his own. And second, like butterflies, there are times we, too, have to struggle through some really tight spots in our lives. But don't give up, and don't lose heart, because determination in the face of obstacles strengthens us, and conquering those obstacles allows us to fly. It's still a good thing to offer a lift or welcome resting place to butterflies and our other friends when they need it... and to enjoy their visits and companionship... even if they do occasionally poop on your head. In the end, we all... both butterflies and people... want to live up to our potential. We want to fulfill our destinies... and we want to soar as high as our wings... and our dreams... can take us.                           Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.