Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.
— Mahatma Gandhi
Source: Pyarelal, Mahatma Gandhi, Volume X: The Last Phase, Part II (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1958), page 552
Quote of the Week: Mahatma Gandhi
Category: Nature
Feeding a Fledging
I saw this video at Amma’s Toronto programs last month. It touched my heart so much then. When I received a copy of it a few minutes ago, I knew I wanted to share it with all of you.
The video came with this introduction:
Recently, a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest was brought to Amma during darshan. After feeding the bird, Amma said that its pathetic condition and heartfelt cries reminded her of all the suffering being experienced throughout the world and how the only way to rid the world of such suffering is through the awakening of compassion: “Children, the tears of those suffering from extreme poverty and other misfortunes, as well as of those who have more than enough materially but are still crying out deep within, can only be dried by pure love and compassion. May that compassion awaken in everyone, everywhere.
On the Way Home
A friend agreed to take something to India for my daughter so I took the light rail to the airport to give it to her. As I walked up the hill on my way back home, this plant and it’s visitor caught my eye!
Al’s Bucket List Trip
Sreejit (my son), Chaitanya (my daughter) and Akshay (Chaitanya’s husband) came to the U.S. this summer to visit family, work and be part of Amma’s North American tour staff. Usually, they return to India immediately after the tour but this year their dad (my ex-husband) asked them to take him on a trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. It was a trip that Al, Sreejit and I had taken in 1976. Sreejit was still in a backpack at that time. This particular trip was an important part of Al’s “Bucket List” and he wanted all of us, including me, to participate.
Sreejit, Chaitanya and Akshay picked up their dad the day after they returned from Amma’s tour and they headed to Yellowstone. I joined them in the Tetons two days later.
The Grand Tetons were exquisite. Their beauty was muted by smoke from the fires in Washington, Oregon and California but they were still majestic. It was easy to imagine what they would look like in their full glory.
We had a wonderful trip and many experiences. Most important to me though was the time we spent together.!
Photo credit: Sreejit Poole
Al and Karuna
As we drove through Yellowstone on our way back to Seattle, we had two last surprises. After we passed this particular deer, we discovered there was another adult deer and three youngsters behind the trees. The young deer were playing; running away from their parents, through the forest and then back to their parents again, all at top speed! It was so much fun to watch them. And clearly being that close to the bison was amazing.
I’m so glad that Al brought us all together in this way. It is a memory that will last a lifetime for each of us.
*****
Wordless Wednesday
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Fire/Summer
Bastet’s Pixelventures: Spontaneous
As I was sitting in my doctor’s office this morning, I thought about Bastet’s Pixelventures newest challenge. Our assignment this week is to take a spontaneous picture and then edit it using one of the photo editing apps. I realized I had an opportunity to take that photo while I waited for the doctor!
This is my favorite of the pictures I took. I used the Loma filter on the Pic Shop Lite app to come up with this version. (Be sure to keep scrolling down after looking at the first photo!) Continue reading “Bastet’s Pixelventures: Spontaneous”
We Need the Bees!
Two years ago a friend gave me a bee balm plant. Last year had quite a few blooms. This year it has taken off. At this point it is 64 inches tall and is full of blooms!
Bee balm is known to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. It is also considered edible and medicinal.
While I have been delighted by the number of blooms on my plant, I have also felt distressed by how few bees there are both in the bee balm and in my garden as a whole. I’m also concerned that essentially all the bees are bumblebees. There are almost no honey bees despite the fact that I have neighbors three houses down who have honey bee hives. It has never been this bad before.
As you probably know the bees are disappearing all over the world. They are getting sick and dying. Continue reading “We Need the Bees!”
Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Living, Learning and Letting Go 