Tag Archives: society

Sunshine for Your Sunday

A lighthearted nature post for your Sunday. Sunflowers are my fave flower. Being a sun sign myself, how can I possibly resist them?

Sunflowers are blossoms rolled in sunshine. For many years they’ve been an important part of my garden repertoire. If there is a mixed cut flower bouquet with a sunflower taking center stage, there is no other one for me.

There is probably a bit of ego (ya think?) going on with sunflowers. Here’s a flower that imitates the SUN. They grow BIG, they make up whole golden, gloriously eye-catching fields. In short, they WILL NOT be ignored.

If you are sunflower lover too, do not despair. A passion for sunflowers is a fortunately not fatal attraction. But, here’s fair warning. If you delude yourself that your sunflowers are impatiently awaiting your arrival in the garden, think again. They have only one thing on their minds, which is, “Where’s Mr. Sun now?” The sun is their lover. Any tiny part you play in their world pales in comparison.

The behavior of sunflowers turning to the sun is called heliotropism. They have a 24-hour tracking system that follows the sun everywhere. They’ve even been known to wait in the field at night with their faces turned to the east, awaiting the sunrise.

Now that’s adulation!

More here: What Is It Called When Sunflowers Turn & Face the Sun?

“My work is the world. Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird – equal seekers of sweetness. ~ Mary Oliver

“A sunflower field is like a sky with a thousand suns.” ~ Corina Abdulahm-Negura

“Which way will the sunflower turn surrounded by millions of suns?” ~ Allen Ginsberg

Humanity’s Healer

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Did you know? The heartbeats of Earth and humanity are intertwined. The Earth’s heartbeat (called the Schumann Resonance) is measurable, and studies suggest that when we are out of sync with it, we are not in a prime state of health.

Synthetic technologies such as cell phones and computers play a big part in this disconnect.

Spend time in nature and get to know the Earth’s heartbeat. Whether you realize it or not, she is calling you back to your organic essence. Nature will unconditionally heal you.

Inspirational nature quotes by Henry David Thoreau:

“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”

“Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.”

“Wildness is the preservation of the World.”

“He who hears the rippling of rivers in these degenerate days will not utterly despair.”

“I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.

The Girl with Green Eggs

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A few days ago at dusk, I noticed a girl selling eggs at the car park exit of our nearby department store. She was alone on the sidewalk in the dark, doing her duty on behalf of her family to bring home some money. I have occasionally noticed a grown woman there in the daytime too, doing the same. Her mother? I suppose so…

I had plenty of eggs at home, and really didn’t need more in that moment. However, something about a lone girl selling eggs in the dark got to me. In First World countries, at 6 pm many (although admittedly not all) children her age would be doing homework, watching TV or playing video games, and eating a solid dinner with no worries. This girl was not just selling eggs. At the age of (I estimate) ten, she was also carrying the family worry of having food and shelter for another day.

I stopped to ask her in Spanish how much for a flat of eggs. As I got closer, I noticed they were not common brown. They were a beautiful light green-turquoise, a color faintly reminiscent of a robin’s egg. Sweet childhood memories of springtime swiftly took hold of me as well. When I was a girl her age, I absolutely loved the April return of the robins to our backyard. Inevitably each year I would find a broken egg that had fallen from a nest, and I would always feel a pang for the baby robin that would never fly. Seeing this girl’s turquoise eggs was a tug from home.

She quoted a price, which was at least twice the normal for common brown. I asked her why. Her reply was rapid and my Spanish is not perfect, but I definitely picked out “verde”, so it was because they were green. I have never seen this color sold in the big stores, so I could easily surmise that verde is somewhat exotic. Still, I was reluctant…

After living for some years in Asia and South America, I have grown weary of at times being over charged compared to what the locals pay. My tolerance for it depends on both my need and mood. Also that particular evening, I had very little money left in my purse. I was down to a few coins.

I started to walk away, telling her “another time”. She was very gracious in her disappointment, with none of the whining or cajoling I have seen in other children required to sell things by their parents in poorer countries. Only a few steps into my retreat, I stopped and turned back. I asked her how much it would be for a dozen, so she quoted a price. I bought ten that were already bagged. I received a warm, sincere smile and “gracias” in return from the girl.

Upon arriving home, I did a quick internet search on egg colors. A blue or green egg is no more nutritious than white or brown. Various egg colors are due to breed of the chicken, and how the egg shell forms during fertilization and maturation. So I was not getting better eating value from a green egg, but I certainly was receiving the emotional payback of happy memories, plus helping a girl to support her family in the present.

You may notice in the pic that there are some pinholes at the end of the eggs. I have blown out the innards to eat, and the shells await decorating for Easter, tomorrow with a good friend and her mother. My own mother passed away some years ago, and I miss my family. So our little group of three women will engage in some warm camaraderie, with very likely some laughter and memories of Easters past.

I will come home with some decorated eggs that will beautify our sun room table. (I will be sure to post a pic of them this Easter weekend!) Needless to say, I am a fortunate woman and I know it. Those eggs will remind me of beauty that still exists in a world that lately too often feels ugly, and my own abundance when many struggle for the basics of living.

Most of all, they will remind me of the girl with the green eggs and her smile. I pray that her path in life will be a good one. Her fortune does not rest in my hands every day, but at least for a moment in time, a bit of it did.

Made to Fly

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I had a friend
who wanted to
dissect me,
so they could
determine
how to slot me.

I have worked
hard in this life
to de-categorize
and free myself,
why would I
agree to this?

The younger me
would yield
to stay likeable,
but the older me
stands firm
for self-respect.

I’m not an ant
made only
for hard work,
I discovered
I have wings,
I’m a butterfly.

Thanks for
the lesson,
I cannot allow
you to pluck
my wings and
pin me down.

I will not deny
that I am
a butterfly,
real friends
let friends fly,
and so must I.

Moving Beyond

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When will humanity choose to start seeing the bigger picture, and move beyond all the pettiness and squabbling that keeps our reality small?

We tell ourselves that we are evolved and civilized, but are we? I wonder if other life forms (that which we call “alien”) are watching, and just shaking their heads. Perhaps they see we are capable of so much more, but we just won’t quite allow ourselves to claim and live our magnificence…