Julanne's Village Jewels

CHLORODENDREN WILL I have long been fascinated by the word WILL. I think of WILLFULNESS, WILLINGNESS, STRENGTH, FORTITUDE, DETERMINATION, COURAGE, etc. WILL can be a positive or a negative attitude or action . Think about what it takes for anyone to begin something new, a new job, new school, marriage, new baby, new ‘rules’, anything. It takes the WILL to enter into a new world of growth and accomplishment. I can think of numerous times in my life when I had to use my WILL to proceed in order to achieve what I wanted! I feel that the WILL is propelled by COURAGE, like the WILL is the bottom line and all the other attitudes buoy us up. I am also very AWARE of all the heroes in history that used their WILL to succeed. The WILL is a mechanism , if you ‘will’ that each of us bring forth in our consciousness to proceed toward our ‘goal’. It is a gift we are each given. We can choose to use or not. It is like a secret hidden way back in the recesses of our mind and hea

SOMEONES HOME COMPLIMENTS One of the pleasures of my life is COMPLIMENTING people for whatever I notice about them. It could be their smile, their attire, their helpfulness, their ‘showing up’ for whatever it may be. I have noticed that it is an automatic response for me to COMPLIMENT someone for whatever . I also notice how it makes the other person respond, usually with a smile or an uplifted look on their face. I also notice how it makes me feel. I also do my best to COMPLIMENT someone on their service to me and everyone. Sometimes I can tell that they are not quite themselves or attentive so I do my best to thank them for their service. I feel it is vital to share positive comments or feedback to people who are working so hard to serve and please others. I know the feeling from my days of serving others. It helps anyone to ‘come back to center’ and proceed. Whenever I go for a walk by the lake, I always end the walk by sitting on a particular bench and soaking u

COMMITTEE MEETING Dan Schmidt INTERCONNECTED I have heard about how we are all INTERCONNECTED for years. I understood it to mean people are INTERCONNECTED and I could understand that. I have recently read a marvelous book called The Invention of Nature by Alexander von Humboldt. I had never heard of him but, oh my, he was a brilliant scientist naturalist, environmentalist, teacher, author, on and on. He was born in 1769 in Germany and spent his life traveling, writing, exploring connections, mountain tops, volcanoes, tiny plants, insects, tropics and forests. His writings and descriptions influenced famous people like Thomas Jefferson, John Muir, Charles Darwin, Goethe, and many more. He was a true visionary and environmentalists today regarding him as the ‘founding father’. This man was focused beyond the norm, dedicated and devoted to uncovering the mysteries of the planet. I was totally inspired to read about his awareness of INTERCONNECTEDNESS and how important it

HYDRANGEA WATCHING I am discovering what a magical time it is to be WATCHING anything good.! I saw a magnificent heron like bird, grayish brown, the size between an Egret and an Ibis. It was so regal, so focused on what it was doing, which was WATCHING for something in the water it could gobble up. It was riveting to WATCH his TENACITY and PATIENCE while WAITING for his lunch. When ‘something’ appeared he would reach down for it at lightning speed. He was doing precisely what he was designed to do . . .as are all wildlife and plants for that matter. I feel I have been given the gift of slowing down my life so I can actually enjoy WATCHING what is going on around me. I also see a dragonfly flying around at the same place every time I walk by the lake. One of my favorite sites anywhere ( but especially from my window) are the long shadows on the trees and grass early morning and before sundown. They put me in touch with GRATITUDE for the safety, beauty and well being

RED ROSE WAITING We all know what it is like to have to WAIT, to ANTICIPATE some event, change, progress, news, birth of a baby, homecoming of a loved one, a plane, a check even a bit of unpleasant happening such as a hurricane coming our way. Having to WAIT for anything can be anxiety producing, downright , frightening, exciting, producing great expectations, nerve wracking, on and on. I have been what I consider ‘stuck’ for the last few weeks, WAITING for a shift in my health, my attitude and my feeling of well being, and inspiration. I feel like I have been doing battle with meds, energy and motivation. Most unpleasant. I certainly have been WAITING . . . I have turned a corner by being PESISTENT with inquiring about my meds, doing what I can do and WAITING for the dust to settle. It has been worth the WAIT because I’m feeling a shift in all my aforementioned ‘stucknesses’. I knew it would come but while I was in the middle of it, it felt   daunting and very fa