Children Learn What They Live By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

if you eat meat, you are an ignorant fool.

Fireflies in the Garden

Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,
And here on earth come emulating flies,
That though they never equal stars in size,
(And they were never really stars at heart)
Achieve at times a very star-like start.
Only, of course, they can’t sustain the part.

Robert Frost

bittersweet. anxious. excited.

i leave texas in six hours for the real world: philadelphia. i don’t know when is the next time i will be back. but i do have the comfort of knowing philadelphia from the past five months so it won’t be as fresh of a start. as I said good-bye to Uncle Grady, who is retiring in September, I told him “have fun retiring”. He shouted back at me as I walked away, “have fun working!”. oh boy, here we go, 25-30 years of employment. i hope i won’t miss school too much. if i do, sam, i can do some of your homework right?

what a flurry of emotions. here’s to a new chapter. it was kicked off with strawberry margaritas tonight.

Bananas unite!
Bananas split!

Pick bananas, pick, pick bananas
Peel bananas, peel, peel bananas
Smash bananas, smash, smash bananas
Eat bananas, eat, eat bananas
Go bananas, go, go bananas!

this old camp song came to mind as my skin is peeling from the sun.

i’m not in a hurry to grow up; i’m in a hurry to grow with my youth.

The Dash

by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end
He noted that first came her date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

illusion

The universe consists only of atoms and the void;
all else is opinion and illusion

Said Democritus

and yet we work hard and care much,
fight, kill and suffer- DO all for the non existent?

so much effort for the projection of a mind

what would happen,
if for once, we would project something different?

Then think what would happen to them
if they were released from their bonds and cured of
their delusions.

Said Plato

“If we don’t act now, the terrible irony is that our great grandchildren will only know of our ancient forests through pictures in books printed on the paper that contributed to their destruction.” -Graham Lester George, writer

they dance.

The moon is white and the sun is yellow
And they meet each other at sunset
In a crossroads next to the horizon line.
“Good night, moon”, says the sun.
“Good afternoon, sun”, says the moon.
And although nobody can see
They dance in the sky
Celebrating the arrival of darkness;
Then the owl sings and stars shine.
When the day comes
The moon calls for the sun
And they dance again;
Then the cockerel sings and wolves rest.
And all of this happens in only one world.