by June | Oct 5, 2016 | Blogposts
Bought some flower seeds. Mixed the flower seeds.
Put them into a container. Shook the container.
Sprinkled the seeds in the garden.
Didn’t know what they were, except they were grown locally and had g r e a t potential to transform the back yard and bring beauty and colour and life into the yard and home when the flowers bloomed
Two weeks later – nothing was growing.
So two weeks late, sprinkled more seeds – nothing was growing
The next week, sprinkled more seeds – and they grew – and grew – and grew!
Jungle!
Flower Jungle
of cosmos, poppies, purple flowers, yellow flowers, pink flowers, white flowers, big flowers, tiny flowers and in-between-colours and sizes.
What to do?
Enjoy them! Share them! Watch them grow and bloom
and s p r e a d
Lessons to be learned … learn their names … learn which will reseed themselves … learn not to sprinkle more seeds on top of more seeds, on top of more seeds
And in the meantime, gratitude fills my heart for the beauty, aroma, colour
they bring into my life as I look out the patio doors and see all of the colour
And when I cut some bring them indoors, put them in vases.
Flower Jungle what fun you are!
by June | Sep 27, 2016 | Blogposts
Ahhhh, sweet organic corn on the cob from the garden. You began your life planted as kernel-seeds in trays on the dining room table which had been moved to the window to take advantage of the sun … no special lamps for you. And still, you began to grow!
Each morning, there was ooo’ing and ahhh’ing as trays were checked
and your efforts to burst forth from the soil were watched.
Ten tiny seeds. That’s all you were. And then came the day when you were strong enough to be transplanted. You stretched to the sun and tassels and cobs began to form
“Are they ready to eat, yet?” The waiting time was long.
“Not yet. They need to be rounder at the bottom.” The waiting time was very long. And then, finally, the harvest! First, two cobs for dinner – then two more – and then one night, dinner was … corn cobs! Just corn cobs from the garden. Feast!
Ten little seeds, you served us well. But in time, you withered so your stalks were cut and your roots dug out to make room for the fall veggies that are being transplanted in *your* place this coming week. And the cycle of life will begin. Again.
And, as it was with you, so it is with us.
As a seed was planted we began to grow, to bloom, and grew some more until the day comes when we tire, begin to wither and ultimately leave.
And then, a new cycle of life begins.
Photo and Text © June Maffin (www.soulistry.com/blog).
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by June | Sep 17, 2016 | Blogposts
Sweet little bee, so industrious, so intense
I expected you to fly away
when I leaned in to take your picture.
But you didn’t.
You kept “doing your thing”
… working
… burrowing your head
… sipping sweet nectar from the flower in the garden
capturing Creation and God and Beauty
in a gentle yellow flower
as you, busy bee were “doing your thing.”
While pesticides, climate change, disease, habitat loss
are dramatically reducing the global bee population
we can help by
… keeping old stems, decaying wood, sticks
… leaving sunny areas of the ground mulch-free, so bees can burrow
… planting flowering plants to provide pollen and nectar
and by letting bees be our guide in “doing our thing.”
Photo and Text © June Maffin www.soulistry.com/blog
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by June | Sep 10, 2016 | Blogposts
I peered through the no-longer-existing wire fence, looked beyond the tall weeds and grass to the farmhouse that was beginning to tilt and thought “What stories that building could tell!”
Like … tales of a long-ago time when it stood tall and erect providing shelter for residents and a wonderful space in the attic for children to play.
Like … stories its residents told as they shared, laughed cried and consoled one another
But that was long ago. Now the farmhouse is getting old and before long
it will be a relic. As we, who begin to tilt to one side, will someday be a relic.Let us not wait until it is too late to share our stories.
We all have them. Let us ask our elders to tell us their stories. They won’t always be with us to tell their stories. Let us record our stories in a Journal. Speak our story into a recording device. Talk about our “good old – and not so good – old days” so that after we wither and tilt and have moved on
to-whatever-comes-next our loved ones will know us in a deeper way
than they now do.
What are our stories? How to begin?
Begin at the beginning … what are our childhood memories? who was our favourite teacher and why? when did we have our first kiss? where did we go on our first trip? when have we felt vulnerable? what was our first paid job? who challenged us in life? how do we feel about the still-controversial subjects such as capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage? when did we first vote – why – for whom? when have we felt affirmed? who is our best friend – why? how did we feel when we first experienced death (of a pet, a loved one, a friend)? did we “deal” with the death or ignore it? what were our hopes and dreams when we were younger? what are our wishes for our final days? how do we want to be remembered by our loved ones, friends?The questions are endless. Like good questions, they lead to more questions. More self-discovery too.
Let us tell our stories about our experiences, learnings, adventures, discoveries so that those left behind when we die will not berate themselves with questions they wish they’d asked us when we were alive.
Aging, tilting, relic we may be becoming, but we have stories to tell! Let’s tell them!
Photo and Text © June Maffin www.soulistry.com/blog
To receive notification of new “Soulistry” postings, go to www.soulistry.com
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click on the “OLDER ENTRIES” link.
—
by June | Aug 18, 2016 | Blogposts
How would you describe your philosophy of life?
I believe that we come into this world to learn, to do our part in making this world a better place through our actions, words and thoughts of lovingkindness and to create, play and celebrate life And then, I believe we move on to the next learning.
Sadly, some of us “move on” too soon. For far too many, it’s due to the dreaded “C” word: cancer.
If you know someone who fought a battle against cancer and died, I invite you to look beyond the view of this photo and envision them with hope in your heart that they are now “beyond” and at peace.
May the day come soon when there is no longer a “Cancer-Anything” day other than to celebrate its cure!
<Remembering beloved husband, Hans van der Werff, two-time cancer survivor and who on the third cancer diagnosis go-round died on June 26, 2016. May he and all who are no longer with us in person, but will always be with us in our heart and memories, rest in peace.>
© June Maffin
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#soulistry
by June | Jun 11, 2016 | Blogposts
Once upon a time … yes – this is a story. 🙂
Once upon a time, a donkey fell down a well. The animal cried and cried and cried – for hours. The farmer tried to help but … he decided the animal was old and it wasn’t worth his time and energy to save the donkey. So he and his neighbours began to throw dirt into the well.
When the donkey realized what was happening, he cried and cried and cried. Then he quieted down.
The farmer and his neighbours continued to throw dirt into the well. When the farmer looked down the well, he was surprised at what he saw! With every shovel of dirt that fell on his back the donkey was doing something amazing! He was shaking off the dirt and taking a step up. As the dirt continued to be shovelled on top of the donkey, he would shake it off and take another step up.
Everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!
We all get dirt shoved on us and sometimes we even shovel the dirt on ourselves. Each time we say “I can’t … I can’t do this. I can’t try that. I can’t go there,” we are shovelling dirt on ourselves. That’s when we need to get out of the deep well we’re in … the well of self-pity … blame … low self-confidence.
We need to shake off the dirt, take a step up, not give up, let every adversity become a stepping stone to positive change.
We *can* get out of the deep wells – whether our well includes feeling lonely, feeling anxious about upcoming assignments, not making friends, frightened about the future, worried about upcoming medical tests, dental treatment, surgery, finances, politics, an upcoming meeting, COVID19, exams, whatever!
When dirt falls on your back, remember the donkey, shake it off and take a step up!
