It's Gonna Be May

Thinking about Joey Fatone, Lance Bass. JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Justin Timberlake this morning because of tomorrow.  Yup!  It's gonna be May!  (I have no idea who started that, but it's fun every year).

I want to say something else about these five guys who used to be the band nsync.  They bring a lot of happiness to the world.  Making a difference doesn't have to be about making the front page of the newspaper.  Making a difference isn't just those who make great scientific breakthroughs or who work hard for social justice.  Sometimes making a difference is about bring joy and happiness.  If you ever listened to an nsync song, you know there is a LOT of joy and happiness!

Since the band broke up, they have continued bringing that joy and happiness in their individual careers.  They also have done a lot of giving back and making a difference in their charity work.  Lance has been an especially outspoken presence for the LGBTQ community.

So beginning tomorrow it's gonna be May, this I promise you, and to April let's say bye, bye, bye!  

Rounding Up

You may have noticed lately that a number of retailers have been asking if you would like to round up your purchase to the nearest dollar, with that change going to their designated non-profit. I was in a restaurant recently and they did that, and today it happened in a store where I was picking up a few things. What a great idea!

Stores have long asked for donations to one charity or another, especially at certain times of the year, but this way, they are actually doing you a service too. So many folks paying with a debit card actually prefer for the numbers to be round and when you pay with cash, do you really want that seventeen cents? (What can you do with a dime, nickel, and two pennies anyway, except save it for the next transaction)?

 

Of course the customer can go even farther. Instead of rounding up to the nearest dollar, the customer might feel particularly generous and offer to round to the nearest five or ten, so a bill that is $13.79 could be rounded up to $15. We aren't talking about huge amounts here, but when this adds up, think of all the good it can do!

 

Now, I know that money doesn't grow on trees and there are some who really cannot afford even that extra nickel. That's okay. It doesn't make you a cheapskate. You really should make sure that you have taken care of yourself and your family above all else! I'm just saying this is a good idea and I'm glad so many places are making use of it. I think we might even be seeing an increase in generosity.

This precious earth

I can remember a public service announcement when I was young that showed people driving around littering the highways. Meanwhile a Native American is seen paddling ashore and walking through the trash. As more garbage is thrown at his feet, he turns his head in the direction of the camera and you see a tear coming down his cheek. Many of you will remember that tv spot too.  It was moving and it got the message across.  People caused pollution then and they still do today.

It isn’t just littering and polluting that I am talking about. There seems to be a lack of care about this planet of ours by many.  I do not have the right to desecrate the parks, streets, hills, streams, neighborhoods, and the land that others have called home. It is not just a hunk of land – there are memories that are precious to others, even if not to me. We all need to be stewards of this planet – of our neighborhoods and all the areas that connect them.

The words below are from a very wise man. They are part of Chief Seattle’s response to the Government’s offer to purchase the remaining Seattle Land. The chief began by saying they would ponder the proposition and let the government know. Then he went on to say “Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as they swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people, and the very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to their footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch. Our departed braves, fond mothers, glad, happy hearted maidens, and even the little children who lived here and rejoiced here for a brief season, will love these somber solitudes and at eventide they greet shadowy returning spirits.”

Yesterday was Earth Day, but it need not be confined to just a single day.  Let us daily all renew our care for this fragile planet we call home. If we start thinking of how precious this earth is to others, hopefully it will become more precious to each of us.

The leadership of Mrs Carter

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”  I don't know how many would say that Rosalynn Carter is a great leader, but she is a very wise observer and a wonderful person.

 

Ever notice that when you see photographs of former President Jimmy Carter in the media, Rosalynn Carter is right there by his side.  Some say Jimmy Carter is a better former President than he was a President.  Mrs Carter though has always inspired.  

Some of her work as First Lady that stands out is the welfare of senior citizens, her mental health advocacy, and her sponsorship of both a poetry festival and a jazz festival.  She has authored several books, makes public appearances speaking out for social justice, and is one of the most famous Habitat for Humanity volunteers.

 

There are so many quotes of Mrs Carter's that continue to inspire me and this morning I was particularly thinking of one thing she said about making a difference.  “Do what you can to show you care about other people, and you will make our world a better place.”

The beauty of the hyacinth

Look at this pretty pink hyacinth. I can just imagine the glorious fragrance! These bulbous flowering plants are native to the eastern Mediterranean (from south Turkey to northern Israel) and are signs of spring in Iran and Iraq. I can remember when I lived in snow country, seeing them poking up through the late winter snowstorms as they heralded the coming of Easter and springtime.

I often think of them at this time of year. How about you? Such a pretty plant is the hyacinth and just perfect for the feasts that converge this year - in a rare calendar alignment, folks are celebrating Passover, Easter, and Ramadan right now. The hyacinth is so beautiful for a celebration, and that smell is like none other.

Oh my! Imagine how much greater our world might be if we would only slow down and occasionally smell the flowers and enjoy the beauty of these wonderful parts of nature. Beauty is all around. Enjoy it! Share it!

changes

If you are reading this blog for the very first time, it isn't one that shares details of my world travels or my cooking adventures or my musical ability or even my athletic abilities.  In fact, as the name indicates, this blog is NOT about me.  It is about all of us doing something powerful - making a difference.  People talk about changing the world and you know what?  We ALL have the power!  We ALL can give back.

Changes don't have to be huge ones.  Changes don't have to involves a lot of people.  Changes don't have to cost a lot of money.  The change we are talking about is making things better for ourselves and for those who come after us.  We see a need and we fill it.  This is OUR world - we should all want to make it better!

Over the years I have highlighted ideas, organizations, and individuals that have helped make things better.  Yesterday I had lunch with someone that I think truly makes a huge difference in our world.  He really is a giver!  I don't have all of the answers of course and from time to time I have asked for your suggestions.  This morning I am asking again.  Do you know of an individual or organization that is doing great things?  Do you have some ideas of how to make life better for us all?  I'd really love to hear from you!

Give peace a chance!

One of the things that humans do, that I will never understand, is fight.  The whole idea of war just doesn't make sense to me.  The fighting and killing in Ukraine is horrible, and yet it continues.  For as long as I can remember, I have been hearing people cry out for peace, yet it never seems to stay for very long.  There are always wars somewhere in the world (or the threat of war, which is also bad) and so there is always suffering and dying.  It does not have to be that way though, and thinking about war (and peace) this morning, reminded me of a poem I first heard many years ago (early 70s, I think).  It's called The Box, and I'd like to share it here with you:   

The Box
by Kendrew Lascelles

Once upon a time, in the land of Hush-a-Bye,
Around about the wondrous days of yore,
They came across a sort of box, all bound with chains and locked with locks,
And labelled, "Kindly Do Not Touch... It's War."
A decree was issued 'round about, all with a flourish and a shout,
And a gaily-colored mascot tripping lightly on before:
"Don't fiddle with this deadly box, or break the chains, or pick the locks,
And please, don't ever mess about with War".
Well, the children understood; children happen to be good,
And were just as good around that time of yore.
They didn't try to break the locks, or break into that deadly box,
And never tried to play about with War.
Mommies didn't either; sisters, aunts, nor grannies neither;
'Cause they were quiet and sweet and pretty
In those wondrous days of yore.
Well, very much the same as now, they’re not to the ones to blame somehow,
For opening up that deadly box of War.
But someone did...
Someone battered in the lid, and spilled the insides all across the floor:
A sort of bouncy, bumpy ball, made up of flags and guns and all.
The tears and the horror and the death that goes with War.
It bounced right out, and went bashing all about.
Bumping into everything in store;
And what was sad and most unfair, was that it really didn't seem to care
Much who it bumped, or why, or what, or for.
It bumped the children mainly, and I'll tell you this quite plainly,
It bumps them everyday, and more and more;
And leaves them dead and burned and crying,
Thousands of them sick and dying,
'Cause when it bumps, it's very, very sore.'
There is a way to stop the ball... it isn't very hard at all;
All it takes is wisdom, and I'm absolutely sure
We could get it back inside the box, and bind the chains and lock the locks,
But no one seems to want to save the children anymore.
Well, that's the way it all appears,
'Cause it's been bouncing 'round for years and years,
In spite of all the wisdom whizzed since those wondrous days of yore;
And the time they came across the box,
All bound with chains and locked with locks,
And labeled, "Kindly Do Not Touch... It's War".