Category Archives: Encouragement

One Tiny Flower

Posted on by
17

Who would have thought it possible that a tiny little flower could preoccupy a person so completely that there simply wasn’t room for any other thought. 
                                                                                                                  –  Sophie Scholl*

The yellow wildflowers are here! They grow in the hills, near the river. They seem to know how to set off their soft beauty as they bloom in bunches against the rock face.

You can spot them even from a distance in their little clusters. The yellow shows up nicely in all the spring green growing everywhere.

Spring brings beauty. So much, so many colors. Yet it’s true — one flower provides wonder enough to occupy our hearts completely.

Do you ever feel lost in the mass of folks in your world? Do you feel like you’re just one tiny person at your company, in your neighborhood, in the world of digital vastness? It’s true, in a way. But here’s a reminder that one tiny little flower is of infinite value. And so are you. You are a wonder!

Linking up with Little Things Thursday, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesdays,Tuesday Muse, and Communal Global.

Photos are edited with Kim Klassen’s texture Daisy and with Nancy at A Rural Journal’s texture Amy.

*Sophie Scholl lived only 21 years before she was killed during WWII. Her crime: distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. Her story is told in an excellent movie, “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days.” It makes me happy to know that in her short life she enjoyed the beauty of nature.

A Place of Light

Posted on by
7

You will find something surprising on the Freedom Trail in Boston. Along this walk of historical buildings that date from the American Revolution is a memorial built only a few years ago. You round a corner, and here is what you see.

This is the New England Holocaust Memorial. It stands as an imposing tribute to hope. The idea for this was born of survivors of the Holocaust who live in Boston. They survived the camps with at least a tiny shred of hope intact, and they started over. They are successful in life, with families and businesses.

The designers wrote, “The memorial to darkness is built with light.” And so what you see and experience is the light through the glass walls. The 6 glass towers represent the 6 death camps in Poland during WWII.

On the soaring walls you see numbers etched in the glass — 6 million of them to represent all those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. You walk through the glass, marveling at the sheer number of numbers.

My husband Curt snapped this photo of me at the memorial. I think I was torn between smiling for the photo and thinking that it’s a travesty to smile at such a sobering place. Yet we can smile at the hope this place represents.

Last week, a Commemoration was held at the memorial. The committee organizing this writes: “This year, we honor the strength and resiliency that enabled individuals to survive and rebuild lives of meaning, dignity and purpose. Their courage in bearing witness and transmitting memory to new generations sustains our commitment to remember the Holocaust for all time.”

I can’t begin to imagine the life of the survivors. But we can all honor them. We can learn from them. They show us a picture of hope and resiliency. We can cry for them and for the unfathomable sorrow of the Holocaust. We can smile because hope lived through the darkness and shines again in the light.

Linking up with Project 52 and Little Things Thursday.

Photos are processed with the textures Lincoln and Braveheart from Nancy at A Rural Journal.

 

 

 

 

 

Better Together

Posted on by
32

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.  ~Rachel Carson

Spring here this week is decked in purples, all shades.

The purples on their own delight. What I noticed the other day, though, was that the purples can be even more stunning in contrast to the yellow, reds, whites, and pinks around them.

Sometimes the complementary color comes in the same bloom. Yellow and purple certainly please the eye.

Look at the beauty of this deep velvety bloom, with its tiny streaks of brightness, just enough to make you notice the dark flowers.

Right before my trip to find these flowers, I heard an interview with a British theologian, N.T. Wright. He said instead of people crushing each other, he’d like to see people finding common ground and going from there. We can exchange ideas and maybe disagree. But instead of seeing what we don’t like in others, how about finding something we can share?

So this week I’m seeing the wonder of purples and all the colors that show it off to best advantage. That’s a good way for us to see each other, isn’t it? We are different but we can be complementary. We can be better together.

How about you? What are you noticing in the beauties and mysteries of the earth around you?

Linking up with Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesdays,Tuesday Muse, and Communal Global.

Photos are processed with Kim Klassen’s textures Cora and Let Go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost-Spring Wonder

Posted on by
5

The greatest wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Trees are bursting into bloom! Two weeks ago, snow lay on the ground in the mountains near my home. Now, the trees announce that spring is almost here.

I am so ready for newness, more light, more warmth, more color, a refocus on hope. My word for this year is wonder. It’s been hard to find some days this winter. So spring, with all the wonder you bring, welcome!

How about you? Are you ready for a new season of light and hope — and wonder?

Linking up with Project 52.

 

 

 

 

When You Need to Breathe

Posted on by
21

A walk on the nearby island of Coronado was just the thing. Last Sunday, we were facing a week with surgery and a hospital stay for my husband, plus the usual work and teaching for me. We needed to breathe, forget our worries, and take in the fresh sea air and sun.

The sky was a watercolor picture against waving palms.

Coronado is home to a naval station, and the nautical theme might show up anywhere. For example, in a little local park.

Historic homes line the streets. Some resident gardening enthusiasts are already working on spring gardens.

How can you feel anything but relaxed looking at this front yard?

Here’s an intriguing gate. We guessed no one had gone through it for a while.

Late afternoon shadows brought out the brightness in this freshly planted bloom.

Around the last corner, I found a new friend. Or a yard guard. I don’t know. He’s cute but inscrutable.

We ended the day with dinner at Miguel’s and pomegranate margarita’s. The week went well, my guy is recovering nicely. We really needed this mini-getaway, though. It let me clear my mind before jumping into the fray.

How about you? How do you gear up for a stressful week?

Linking up with Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesdays, Little Things Thursday, and Communal Global.

Photos are processed with Kim Klassen’s textures Daisy and Isobel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Scrubby Pine

Posted on by
25

Torrey Pines is an area of beach and cliffs in San Diego.

It’s also home to the Torrey Pine, a tree found only here and one other place, named after a botanist’s friend in the 1800s. The scrubby pine grows out of the sandy soil and hangs on the edges of hills.

This pine bends without breaking when sea winds buffet the cliffs.

The Torrey Pine is not the most majestic of pines, not the most beautiful. It is distinctive, though. The stand of pines helped guide those at sea to the shore long before a lighthouse sat atop a San Diego point.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” We may wish we were more beautiful, had accomplished more, or any number of things. The Torrey Pine stands as a reminder to just be ourselves. You never know who is lost at sea, looking to you for inspiration.

Linking up with Texture Tuesday, Little Things Thursday, Sweet Shot Tuesdays, Ready to Waltz, 1440, and Communal Global.

Photos are processed with Kim Klassen’s textures Daisy, Isobel and If Only.

 

To Live a Creative Life

Posted on by
3

To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong.  

                                                                                              — Joseph Chilton Pearce

I love the little collection of blue bottles that my daughter-in-law Bethany has found at yard sales.

Treasures all, and practical too, but one stands out. It’s a fish, with scales and fins, and a cork for a nose.

Someone woke up one morning decades ago and decided to make a bottle in the shape of a fish. I like to think this someone had never before seen such a bottle. It’s an odd idea. But the creator was not stopped by the oddity or the lack of precedence. And here’s the bottle, still intact, and it’s my favorite in the collection.

How about you? Do you have an idea that you hesitate to follow up on because it’s a bit odd? So what if your idea is new or different? Go for it! You just may create a treasure.

Linking up with Project 52.

 

 

Bells Are for Ringing

Posted on by
5

A dozen vintage cast-iron bells, gathered from churches across America, hang in a tall space in a little chapel. We visited this church last week and discovered the bells. Anyone can walk up, pull a rope, and ring.

The bells aren’t pretty and shiny, but they fill the air with a sound that is sweet, strong, confident, cheerful. Of course, on our visit I had to pull a rope. People sitting around after church smiled as the tones echoed through the stone walls.

Village church bells have rung in a new year, summoned people for meetings, heralded weddings, and tolled for death. Bells are a part of life, and they are made not to decorate a space, but to fill the space with sweetness.

This is on the plaque in the bell cavern: “No matter what your triumph or trial, let the exquisite and singular sound of the bells soothe your soul.”

In the musical “Guys and Dolls,” one of the women sings, “If I were a bell, I’d be ringing.” I like that. We can all “ring” in the space we’re in this week. We can fill the air with sweetness and bring smiles to others.

How about you? How can you ring out this week? How can you soothe the soul of someone with your sweet words?

Linking up with Project 52.

 

 

 

Rail Trail Journey

Posted on by
6

On a recent autumn trip, we enjoyed a bike ride on the Cape Cod Rail Trail.

Before the railroad arrived in Cape Cod, the area was an isolated, narrow strip of land jutting into the Atlantic Ocean. The Old Colony Railroad Company laid tracks in the 1800s, connecting Boston with Provincetown, at the far tip of the Cape. Visitors came to the Cape by trainloads, and food and supplies chugged into the Cape to keep up with the needs of all the people.

But then came the 1900s and cars and bridges over the Cape Cod Canal. The heyday of the trains passed. The rails are paved over now, the trains long gone.

The good news is the paved rail trail is open to bike riders, walkers, runners, even horseback riders. What a beautiful trail it is! In the woods, along the water,  through towns with romantic names like Brewster, Harwich, and Wellfleet.

We stopped in the fishing town of Orleans, where we found this little restaurant decorated with lobster pot buoys. I assume these are “retired” buoys, and some are faded and chipped. Others still pop with color. These are quintessential Cape Cod.

We stopped to eat our picnic lunch on a bench under the canopy of trees. We rode until rain came and soaked us. We dropped off our bikes, drenched not only with rain but also with the happiness of being a part of this land rich in history and beauty.

Those who built the railroad meant for it to be used for trains, forever. That didn’t happen, but the trail still brings joy. It’s still well used.

We prepare, we build, we forge careers or businesses. They may or may not last our whole lives. Maybe children came along and our priorities changed. Maybe an illness or injury happened. Maybe it’s simply the passing of years.

We may start out as railroad tracks and end up as bike paths. What matters is that we can still bring a smile to those around us.

 

Linking up with Texture Tuesday, where the assignment this week is to show a pop of color, Sweet Shot Tuesdays, Little Things Thursday, and Communal Global.


Photos are processed with Kim Klassen’s texture 1412.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Charm of the Antique

Posted on by
18

Do you ever feel like the “you” people see is not as shiny and pretty as you would like? Whether it’s from the toll of years of life or you were up with your sick baby in the night or bad news is wearing you down, you may be feeling ragged.

Last week I spent a day in an old mining town that makes no apologies for losing the patina of newness. Peeling paint, broken fences, dusty old things are what you find here. In fact, it’s why people come to visit.

You’ll see signs bragging of the old, the antique.

Even the buildings that are kept up, like the Julian Hotel, have a rustic look. The hotel, built in 1897, boasts a golden front . . .

but around back the steps show their age.

If a crew came in with a truckload of paint and gardening tools and fixed up the tiny town, the charm would disappear. Julian is fascinating because the old is okay, the rough surfaces are the norm. The town puts on no airs. It is simply itself.

If you’re feeling a bit like the old fence, take heart. Your experiences, your problems and worries that have etched wrinkles on your face or left circles under the eyes — these are what make you charming. They are what make you real.

Wishing you a week of being comfortable simply being yourself!

 

Linking up with Fridays Fences, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesdays and Communal Global.
Photos are processed with Kim Klassen’s texture minus 43.

 

 

 

 

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...