Simplicity

Douglas Horton (1891- 1968) was an American Protestant clergyman and academic leader who was noted for his work in ecumenical relations.  He said "The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity". Although referring to church matters, this quote also applies to seemingly simple flowers. There are many flower blooms that look like simple designs to most people until one looks at that them closely.

Examples of "simple" flower designs include petunias and geraniums.

These petunia blooms on the right look simple until you closely examine them.










Similarly, these geranium blooms below look simple. But, when you look at the petals of these two flowers, they look like fingerprints.

Old Books

Vincent Starrett, in Books Alive, said “Old books, yes! They are the true comforters; and principally because they are old and familiar. Many excellent new tales and poems and dramas are added yearly to the catalogues, and some of these in time will stand beside the great companions under discussion; but only Time (and you and I and all other lovers of good books) will bring about their survival.”

 As Mason Cooley (1927 – July 25, 2002), an American author, said “Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”

Start Where You Are

Arthur Ashe, was a famous black tennis player and author who said: "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can". This great quotation has inspired countless numbers of people seeking personal contentment and happiness.

He died from AIDS contracted from a blood transfusion during heart surgery. His life was reviewed in the New York Times in 1993: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0710.html

His life was simply amazing.  Although he died 35 years ago, his legacy lives on.

Are You Successful?

Everyone seems to have something to say about success. Quotations about success abound in the literature and on the Web.  Albert Einstein said "if A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z ... (where) work is x ... y is play ... and z is keeping your mouth shut". Einstein often said he wished that he'd never talked about some of his theories.

Herbert Bayard Swope, a Pulitzer Prize laureate said "I can't give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time".  I'll end this post with another quote.  This one of Henry David Thoreau: "success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it".

We Are the World, We Are The Children

In 2009, this was one of the best songs sung by a group of singers, some now deceased (e.g., Michael Jackson).  It's a very moving song.  It makes me think of my children and their children.  We are so blessed to live where we do, here in Canada.

We're fortunate, too, to be able to get together  as a family.  For example, we attended the recent showing of the Big Boom Theory at Celebrations Dinner Theatre.



We also got together for my granddaughter, Jillian's, 5th birthday party in LaSalle, Manitoba.

I hope you enjoy being with your family as much as I enjoy being with mine.

Let Them Eat Cake

My grand-son Matt recently made a birthday cheesecake for himself and his family.  He got the recipe for it from a book called Geronimo Stilton.

The holes in the chocolate top are from the ten candles that were inserted.  Once the candles were blown out and removed, the cake was cut up and shared with all the cheesecake lovers.

Leave it all behind

This zen saying means a lot to me. It gives me peace to know that I can leave my past behind and just breathe. Over my many years, I did and said a lot of things in my relationships with others that I now regret. But, I've gradually learned to forgive myself and move on. I hope the people I affected will do the same. We all need peace in our souls.

“What day is it?”
“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
“My favorite day,” said Pooh.

Leave it all behind in Japanese zen characters is 後にする