Lyrid Meteor Shower

Did anyone catch the show last night? I got up about 3am to check it out. The moon was almost set so the sky was nearly dark. What a wondrous display of fireworks, like Nature's own beautiful umbrella formed by sparkles, twinkles and streaks. The water was calm and dark, and a couple times it seemed the shooting stars dived right toward the water. I leaned in close and held my breath, waiting to hear a "sizzle" but never heard a peep :)

As I watched the display, I thought about our ancestors who first saw the Lyrids around 687 B.C. I thought about what they must have said and thought and felt. Last night, I could almost hear their ooohs and ahhhs of them standing there with me. Last night, standing underneath the Heavens, I felt a part of something much bigger than myself. Hope you did too...

All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

For the past couple of weeks I've been doing some personal study. This tried and true favorite was speaking to me tonight...thought I'd share it to remind us all, that all we really needed to know we learned in kindergarten. Here's to staying connected to our inner child and loving her with kindness, patience and gentleness and LOTS of play!! :)

"Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

"These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day.

"Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

"Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup ~ they all die. So do we.

"And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics and sane living.

"Think of what a better world it would be if we all ~ the whole world ~ had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap.

"Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes.

"And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."

~ by Robert Fulgham ~

20 Things You Should Never Apologize For (And Why)

1. Never apologize for being human. Once you do, you’re no longer human – you’re a cyborg.

2. Never apologize for saying how you feel. That’s like saying sorry for being real.

3. Never apologize for expressing yourself. That’s the full, free expression of your truth. Don’t ever say you’re sorry for that.

4. Never apologize for speaking your mind. Honesty makes people uncomfortable. Good! Comfortable people rarely take action.

5. Never apologize for telling the truth. You’re doing people a favor. Especially yourself. Lack of honesty is the single source of the entire world’s stress.

6. Never apologize for your boundaries. They are limits that promote integrity. And if you don’t set them for yourself, others will set them for you.

7. Never apologize for asking for what you need. The answer to every question you DON’T ask is always no.

8. Never apologize for passionately going for what you want. Stop kidding yourself about the things that you “need.” It’s all about what you WANT. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting.

9. Never apologize for looking out for yourself. Self-preservation is a primary driver of human behavior. It’s how we’re wired.

10. Never apologize for making a decision from the heart. Remember: It’s not THE truth – it’s YOUR truth.

11. Never apologize for asserting yourself. The word "assert" comes from the Latinasserere, which means, "to claim, maintain or affirm". And that’s exactly what you’re entitled to: Your opinion. Your belief. Your say. Let nobody take it away from you.

12. Never apologize for what’s important to you. If you do, then it’s probably not that important to you. And it certainly won’t be the important to anyone else!

13. Never apologize for asking questions. When you stop asking questions, you don’t just run out of answers – you run out of hope.

14. Never apologize for demanding respect. If you’ve demonstrated that you deserve respect by giving it to others first, you’re good to go.

15. Never apologize for being passionate. Unless you’re passionate about stabbing strangers with broken Coke bottles. Yikes!

16. Never apologize for getting something off your chest. That which you suppress will find a home in your body. And then it will trash the place. Sure, getting something off your chest may temporarily hurt someone’s feelings; however, NOT getting something off your chest is certain to harm your health, whether emotionally, mentally or physically. Think about it. Which is more important? Which is long-term? Which is more detrimental? Which is harder?

17. Never apologize for voicing a reasonable complaint. When everyone assumes somebody is going to say something, nobody says anything. It’s called diffusion of involvement, and it’s the murderer of the collective voice of man. Don’t feel bad for complaining.

18. Never apologize for your fundamental values. That’s who you are. At your core. Your personhood. Your foundation. That’d be like a cayenne paper saying sorry for being spicy. Not cool.

19. Never apologize for your inherent value. You worked very hard to establish it. Stand up, speak up and sell the hell out of yourself. People who see you are worth it will stick by your side. Those who don’t will take their currency elsewhere. It will be their loss, not yours!

20. Never apologize for giving it your best shot. Do the best you can with what you have at that moment. Just because you might be able to do better tomorrow, doesn’t mean that what you did today is total rubbish. This ties back into #1!

Rinse and repeat...