Drought

"The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossum.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom:
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy."

Isaiah 35:1-2

This bible verse has played a significant part in my life in the past and most recently I encountered it twice in the same day. Certainly as far as my writing and blogging has been concerned there has been a significant drought. I was led to blogspot a couple of days ago and was amazed to see it had been 2 years since I last posted or wrote anything or had read any of the blogs I follow. Apologies for my lack of response to your comments.

Life took a dramatic turn for me at that time with the breakup of my marriage and subsequent return to work and there has been little physical or emotional space for many of the creative things I enjoy. I have been frantically treading water for quite some time but now feel a shift and am able to float more calmly on the surface. I hope to be able to return to my writing in some small way over the next few months.

This thought for the day is from a fellow bloggers post but I have pinched it as it sums up perfectly what I need to express at the present time.

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it'd be easy, they just promised it'd be worth it." (unknown)

Pink Blossom

Most of the cherry blossoms have now tumbled to the ground with each whisper of a breeze, like rose petal confetti thrown over a newly married couple. The love affair with Spring is now official. Two little girls enjoy the beauty of the pink frosted ground.

There is some new treasure appearing each day. I now have the wonderful pink sight and scent of my archway covered in Clematis. It makes my heart skip each time I turn the corner.

My favourite blooms of the day have to be these lovely scented stocks brought by a close friend who I thank God for every day as she has been there for me through a very difficult time.

" Your words fall soft and gentle, like petals, from your lips"

Love Me Birds

"All was silent in the wood. Suddenly, out of the green, 'Love-me! Love-me! Love-me!' called the Love-Me Bird. There was no answer to her call."

From the Love-Me Bird by Joyce Dunbar.

This story of the Love-Me Bird by Joyce Dunbar was one of my favourite bedtime stories to read to my daughter. Desperate to be loved, the Love-Me bird flies around the forest singing the same old song 'Love-Me!' She fluffs and preens her feathers, acts helpless, plays hard to get and acts cool. She even builds a fantastic love nest but still no-one answers her call. Finally Shut-Eye the owl suggests she sing a different tune, 'Love-yoo-ooo!'

'But I'm a Love-Me bird not a Love-You bird' complains the Love-Me bird. 'Perhaps you can be both at once,' suggests Shut-Eye.

Television is full of examples of Love-Me Birds all desperate for love, fame, to be understood and accepted. Think Big Brother, think Apprentice.Like the Love-Me Bird they all fluff their feathers in different ways: Look at my body! Look at how cool or good looking I am! Look at how misunderstood I am! They jostle each other for the best position in the nest, damaging each other's feathers in the process and all the time singing the same old song at the tops of their voices, unable to truly hear anybody elses song. The morning talk shows are full of 'misunderstood' people desperately shouting out to let us know how badly they've been treated. These shows do contain extreme characters but I would suggest that their behaviour does mirror, in some ways society at large. We are all part of this "it's all about me generation". Obsessed with having the perfect body and looks and will undertake extreme surgery to achieve it. wanting the best house, more money, most successful career and will work all hours to achieve it. Yet despite all this attention grabbing behaviour there still exists a lot of unhappiness, loneliness and dissatisfaction.

Two of the greatest commandments in the Bible are about giving out love, not receiving it. We are told to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbours as ourselves(being able to love yourself-hmmmm, that's a whole other topic, not as easy as it sounds for some). For that reason one of the programmes I like to watch is 'The Secret Millionaire' for the sole reason that it tells you about people who are selflessly giving their lives to help others, often people who have been shunned or forgotten by society at large and often for no monetary gain but purely out of love for others.

If we could all follow Shut-eye the owls advice and sing a different tune, the 'Love-You' tune, might our world not be a much better and happier place?