Palms versus Pines

The pine trees in my "woods" on our property. The ones still standing after DH eradicated approximately 26 trees that he deemed too close to the house. Pine trees are known to snap, crack, split, drop limbs and so forth. They tend to be inflexible and do not always weather storms very well. Pines tend to leave a "big mess" when tossed to and fro. In defense of the pine tree, they are majestic, regal, familiar, true and evergreen. Plus the needles make great baskets!

The lovely palms of St. Augustine, Florida. Palms weather storms by bending and swaying.

The palms are graceful under the onslaught of high winds, rain, floods and the tropical storms and hurricanes rampant in coastal areas of the world.

My friend Jayne having lived on the coast most of her adult life, of course, loves palm trees! She recently posted about palm trees and we also had a discussion about trees, nature and the many, many topics we find ourselves discussing on our Saturday excursions. She mentioned that she would like " to be graceful, bending, swaying, and flexible in order to weather all the storms of my life." I frequently think about the pines in my yard and how they snap and break at the slightest provocation. How they loose their needles and do not withstand storms very well and how often I resemble the pines as I am forever loosing my needles! I have always loved palm trees from the very first vision of them as a young child moving to a new country. I relate to them being graceful, swaying and bending. The palms lift up their skirts during the storms like a true southern belle implying that whatever forces or adversity served their way will be weathered with grace, dignity and a certain aplomb! Each time I view the palms in the midst of severe storms, I think...wow...I want to bounce back intact just like that! So Jayne, thanks for the reminder! I am striving to embrace the wonderful qualities of both the palm and the pine in a healthy balance. So are you in balance...are you more palm like or more pine like?

P.S. I will be getting up close and personal with the sand, sea, and palms for an extended weekend Friday. WOOHOO...color me happy! Plus I "get to" play in the sand with my grandchildren. Jayne, hopefully Kristi, and a few others will be meeting at the beach for our henna tattoos, shopping and a glorious fun time!!!

Peace Symbol Turns 50

The peace symbol turned 50 in April. It was originally designed to protest nuclear disarmament in the United Kingdom. The brainchild of Gerald Holtom, artist and WWII conscientious objector, the peace symbol was a result of his despair over nuclear weaponry.

“The symbol itself is a combination of the semaphoric signals for the letters "N" and "D," standing for Nuclear Disarmament. You can read more about the story at : http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/23/sunday/main3960390.shtml

I remember the peace symbol of my childhood, a colorful symbol of protest against the Vietnam War. Many people made disparaging remarks about the symbol even going as far as calling it the sign of Satan. I was of an age where I did not really care too much about protest I just enjoyed drawing the symbols on any and everything! I was reading a magazine and it pointed out the 50th anniversary of the peace symbol. Apparently several designers are creating jewelry and other accessories to commemorate the event. As my dear friends know, I am all about anything 50! I think the symbol remains a timeless reminder of peace. Our world is still rife with war and social injustice. It saddens me to see so much struggle between people. The best I can offer is to be a peaceful person. There are many, many people striving each day to live in gratitude, love and peace. I choose to be one of this group and hopefully set an example for those whom are less peaceful. Daily, I receive negative emails, encounter dismal news stories and encounter less than polite people. I can choose how I respond and what I allow in my environment. I choose P*E*A*C*E !!! So let's start our own peace movement...

On Being an Individual

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. E. E. Cummings

I have been thinking a great deal about individuality and what it means to stand apart from the crowd. At what age do we decide that we must conform to someone else's standards? A certain amount of conformity is necessary for a society to function in a law abiding manner. I am by no means advocating anarchy! I always heard the saying "live and let live". I think this is fine as long as no one is being harmed in the process. Many of the rules we allow others to place upon us are superficial. They have no long term significance and are not pertinent to our eternal welfare. My granddaughter recently had a windfall of shoes and clothes. Anna adores shoes (she apparently got the shoe gene from me). She has a difficult time deciding which "pair" to wear. Almost daily, she wears two different shoes. My daughter carries a matching pair in the car, if needed. My daughter doesn't think it really matters if Anna's shoes match or not. She allows Anna to express her own sense of individuality. Does this make her an inattentive mother? Absolutely not! She knows there are more important issues at hand. My children attended Montessori school and I taught at the same Montessori school for ten years. Most parents enrolled their children in this type of environment in order for their individuality to be nurtured and their strengths optimized. Everybody deserves their opportunity to shine. We all shine at something different! Thank goodness. Each person has wonderful gifts to share, some take a little longer determining what those gifts are and unwrapping them! I tend to be on the slow side of learning. Fortunately, I do learn eventually. It has taken me many years to understand the value of who I am as an individual. There is no one just like me. I have developed friendships with a diverse group of people. We are all different from each other and my greatest joy comes from those individual differences. Why would I want my friends to act, think and be just like me? What is it about certain people that makes us want to "be around them"? You know them, they walk into a room and the room seems to light up! Reminiscing some, what was it that made me want to be part of the "in" crowd, who decided who was in or out? Sometimes we get so bogged down in being part of a group that we lose our sense of individuality. Look at the measures some will go to in order to conform. I like different, different is good.

Do I claim to understand this kind of different, not really, however, I understand the right of this person to display their individuality. I believe we are all children of a divine Heavenly Father and each is of infinite worth valued for our individual nature.

P.S. Visit Delicious Bass ( link above right) to see an adorable video of my very individual and gifted grandson :) but I'm not biased in any way!!!