Posts

 With the inauguration of Donald Trump just a day away, there is lots of talk on TV of a New World Order. My sincere prayer is that the Universe will turn his “gift of gaffe” into something that the world’s citizenry find itself easy to follow and understand. Words do matter and may this New World Order include words that matter. Other US leaders expressed themselves eloquently on the world stage and we expect no less of this new Commander-in-Chief. “I went to an Ivy League school. I’m very highly educated. I know words, I have the best words,” he said at a rally last December. Below are words that matter spoken by previous US Presidents and some of Donald’s own. ...

I’m pleased to introduce my good friend, Cynthia, who is seventy-eight years young. She has always been a very positive influence on me in her outlook on life and her youthful enthusiasm for living. I wanted to know what was her secret to “youthful aging.” What were the life lessons she learned along the way that might help me with my own aging process? For those of you who have followed my posts, you may have noticed that I like to highlight my friends. I have done posts on the skills, talents, and abilities, or whatever moved me about some of my friends - and this post is just another example. ...

We’re on the threshold of a brand New Year and as it approaches, we’re all offering good wishes to those we meet for a “Happy New Year.” One of the principal components of happy would include healthy. That’s certainly a priority for me and I’m sure for you. Good health certainly includes a healthy body but is so much more. It is this “so much more” that I’m pleased to share with you through Simply Spectacular Design’s video. I’m grateful that Ronald Janki of Simply Spectacular Designs has agreed to be my guest for this post. Nature, as we see it in this video presents us with opportunities to enjoy and to heal those deep places within us - our own sea of consciousness within. In the hustle and bustle of daily life, we often don’t take the time to nurture our souls and spirits. ...

This year has gone by very quickly. It feels like it was just the other day I was preparing for Christmas 2015. “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Well, to tell the truth, it wasn’t all fun. Life has its challenges and there are always valuable lessons to learn as we spend our days here on Earth. For anyone thinking that lessons stop when you leave school, I have news for you. They begin on the day you are born and continue until the day you take your last breath. I am 67 and learning many valuable lessons at this stage of my life. As the saying goes: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” ...

It’s hard to believe that my memory is not what it used to be. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that my last post should have been “special” in some way to mark my 200th published post. For a while there, I was thinking what significant title or remarks should be made to mark this milestone. Then, would you believe it - this 67 year old brain completely forgot. Instead, there was the post “Santa’s Mailbox” which was my last one. I am making this 201st post “the one.” That’s the reason for the fireworks you see below. ...

Have you written your letter to Santa yet? You ought to be thinking about it. It’s already December 1st tomorrow and Santa’s a very busy soul. Santa came to town here in Toronto on November 20th and thousands of little and big people flocked to see him on his arrival. Mark Twain, famed author of “Huckleberry Finn” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” wrote a letter to his three year old daughter, Susie, which I am sharing with you below. He was playing the part of Santa. It was written in 1875. Samuel Langhorne Clemens is Mark Twain’s real name and for your information, he was born on November 30th, 1835. Today is November 30th, 2016 - his date of birth. That’s just a synchronistic occurrence since I didn’t know this until I looked it up. I think you will enjoy reading this letter - coming from the pen of this famous author. I know I enjoyed reading it. It might just put you in the Christmas spirit as well. ...

[caption id=“attachment_2976” align=“aligncenter” width=“300”] “Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; ‘Twas not given for thee alone, Pass it on; Let it travel down the years, Let it wipe another’s tears, ‘Til in Heaven the deed appears - Pass it on.” (Henry Burton)[/caption] ...

 As this memorable presidential race in the U.S. is fast approaching its final outcome, I wondered what style of speaking former U.S. presidents used to bring their message to the people. How did they speak after they were elected? Were they representative of the larger culture? I ask these questions as a Canadian citizen who is removed from the voting process. However, I do have to say that the candidates for this election have caught my attention and the rhetoric used has confounded me. I thought, just perhaps, the rhetoric other U.S. Presidents used would serve to alleviate my concerns about the candidates in this election. ...

But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand. (Book of Isaiah) On this 16th anniversary of my father’s death, one might think that the day could pass with just a slight remembering and a moving on - a kind of forgetting as the tasks of the day took over. Alas, that was not to be! From the beginning of this month, I started to think of this day approaching. Luckily for me, my Art class was this morning and I worked diligently at my clay creations. Vaguely, I remembered the Bible saying something about clay and decided to look it up. The above verse was one of the ones I found. My father was a “religious” man. He would approve of me looking things like this up. ...

 At the top of my Facebook page today, there was a white dove flying on a red background and a heading “International Day of Peace.” With the state of the world the way it is right now, I was glad to be made aware of this “peace” day. Today is the day that the UN set aside since 1981 for nations and peoples world-wide to celebrate and be mindful of the importance of peace. In 1982, when the first International Day of Peace was observed, this is what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “Let us all work together to help all human beings achieve dignity and equality; to build a greener planet; and to make sure no one is left behind.” ...