I had a brief moment of what my husband calls life’s little pleasures as I was out walking this morning. I saw a butterfly! Did I hear you say “so what’s great about that?” Well, when was the last time you saw one? Have you not been paying much attention? And no, it has very little to do with my location. I happen to live away from a bustling city centre. I am surrounded by trees, forests, golf courses and beautifully manicured gardens blooming with eye-popping flowers.
I walked all spring and saw no butterflies. Summer is peaking and I finally spotted one. It gladdened my heart but also set me thinking if my grandchildren would ever get to know what the real things are like or depend on the pinned-onto-cardboard carcasses in science labs. A day might come when we start building museums for butterflies and other small animals that are fast disappearing.
O the joy I had as a child chasing butterflies and noting their varied colours, spots and markings. I remember my father showing me how to treat them by catching one himself and illustrating how those beautiful wings crumble when handled with heavy hands. I always associate my childhood with butterflies. In the 70s, I could look out of the windows of my Bedfordshire home and watch them fluttering over the flower beds for hours and wondering how far they travelled to get to my garden. When I moved to Saudi Arabia, I still indulged in butterfly gazing with special fondness for the Al-Hassa swallowtail with its striking black and yellow wings and body. They had some butterflies on postage stamps. I wonder if it is still the same.
In elementary school, I learnt that like honey bees, butterflies pollinate plants. Will my grandchildren be taught the same at schools - what with us destroying their habitats and using toxic pesticides and herbicides in our fields and gardens? With us growing genetically modified plants that contain a bacterium toxic to insects, causing migrating flies that land on fields of these plants to get annihilated? I doubt it.
Did you ever get to watch the cartoon, ‘Hoppity Goes to Town’ when you were little? My children did. It described the return of Hoppity (a grasshopper) to a city in America, having been away for some time, only to find that his insect friends were under threat by the ‘human ones’. I remember the part where the poor insects were running from being trampled by human feet and shouting “the human ones are coming, the human ones are coming!” Have you ever wondered what some of these small inhabitants of the earth would be saying if they could talk? Or maybe they do but we are too busy to hear!
I'm no tree-hugging conservationist but still need to pay attention to some of God’s creations that help to make this earth fun to be in. Today it is the butterfly, tomorrow the bees, which are also disappearing. They might be small but they have their own jobs to do in the grand scheme of life. Or perhaps we should stop procreating and start pollinating? After all, a third of food produced for us humans is dependent on pollinators.
The last two lines of Thomas Gray’s ‘Elegy written in a country churchyard’ come to my mind:
“But thro' the cool sequester'd Vale of Life
Pursue the silent Tenour of thy Doom.”
Look around you after reading this and prove me wrong. It's our call.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Monday 20 June 2011
Putting her foot in it!
I can’t wait to tell you what just happened to me. It was at 10:46 am that my door bell rang. How did I know the exact time, I hear you ask. Well, I had just placed this apple cream coffee cake in the oven, turned to look at the clock and was still holding my oven mittens in my hands.
My initial instinct was to ignore it. I was not expecting any one and have a very busy day ahead of me. But not being the type to ignore door bells unless the timing was positively inconvenient, I took the 13 steps from the centre of my kitchen to my front door (Yep, I went back and counted it before sitting down to write this!), still holding my oven mittens.
Peeping through the key hole, I was initially blinded by the red coat. I then made out the wearer, a middle aged woman who had a young girl in tow. She was clutching a handbag and was already holding out some pamphlets. I knew where she belonged and what she wanted. As a Christian, I welcome and love chatting with others who profess to know God. We might not always see eye to eye but that does not stop me from listening with patience and occasionally putting across my own points. But not today. Shall I just walk back and ignore them?
“Well," I said to myself, "you’re already at the door so you might as well open it and dismiss them politely."
I opened the door still holding my mittens and with a sorry-but-must-get-back-to work look on my face.
“Good morning.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to wake you up from sleep but I would like to…”
What is this? A canned greeting for those who happen to be still at home at 11 am?
“You did not wake me up. I AM COOKING,” I spelled out waving the mittens for effect.
“Oh sorry but you’re still wearing your…” she tried to stutter,
She still didn’t get it. I knew what I was wearing so she had no excuse. I glanced at her little girl who looked to be about 11 and the poor thing had her face fully focused on the ground. She got it.
The woman in red stretched out her hand and offered me her pamphlet. “We’re going around your neighbourhood and inviting people to our Convention on the …”
I took the paper and was about to close my door when I remembered my grace and charm.” Have a very good day ladies.” I smiled that smile that only showed the teeth.. You know; the one that never touched the heart. Then I shut the door.
Turning around, I barged into my guest toilet, located not far from my front door and turned to the full length wall mirror. I had and still have on my lounging Kaftan with a dusting of flour on the left hand side, an evidence of my time in my kitchen. My hair is not bad. True I have no makeup on but there is no way I look like someone who is just roused from sleep. Then I looked at the paper.
"Violence, immorality and global warming, along with
oil spills and other environmental disaster – all
these problems had led concerned people to ask:
WILL HUMANS RUIN THIS EARTH?"
Talk about ruining the earth! Lady, you've tried to ruin my day!! You've just made me feel like a lazy slob who hugs her bed until midday. If only you know what I have achieved this morning and what I still need to do before the end of the day. I felt bad and really small. Then I glanced at the mirror again and smiled, this time for real. Who should be feeling small and embarrassed? Me, in my own home and doing my own thing or this woman who tried to mess my head up by putting her foot in her mouth?
Out of line comments are never pleasant. People must learn to think before they open their mouth. Thoughtless statements can be offensive and such verbal blunders belittle the receiver and chips away confidence.
I now find myself wondering if I am at all like this lady. Have I said some insensitive things to people that left them embarrassed or hurt? If so then I am truly sorry. It is worth thinking positively and saying something complementary at all times.
As for the invitation from the woman in red, it is already resting where it belongs, in my trash can. And I need to go bring my cake out of the oven. It is for a good cause and some folks who are yet unknown to me will enjoy it later. Cheers!
My initial instinct was to ignore it. I was not expecting any one and have a very busy day ahead of me. But not being the type to ignore door bells unless the timing was positively inconvenient, I took the 13 steps from the centre of my kitchen to my front door (Yep, I went back and counted it before sitting down to write this!), still holding my oven mittens.
Peeping through the key hole, I was initially blinded by the red coat. I then made out the wearer, a middle aged woman who had a young girl in tow. She was clutching a handbag and was already holding out some pamphlets. I knew where she belonged and what she wanted. As a Christian, I welcome and love chatting with others who profess to know God. We might not always see eye to eye but that does not stop me from listening with patience and occasionally putting across my own points. But not today. Shall I just walk back and ignore them?
“Well," I said to myself, "you’re already at the door so you might as well open it and dismiss them politely."
I opened the door still holding my mittens and with a sorry-but-must-get-back-to work look on my face.
“Good morning.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to wake you up from sleep but I would like to…”
What is this? A canned greeting for those who happen to be still at home at 11 am?
“You did not wake me up. I AM COOKING,” I spelled out waving the mittens for effect.
“Oh sorry but you’re still wearing your…” she tried to stutter,
She still didn’t get it. I knew what I was wearing so she had no excuse. I glanced at her little girl who looked to be about 11 and the poor thing had her face fully focused on the ground. She got it.
The woman in red stretched out her hand and offered me her pamphlet. “We’re going around your neighbourhood and inviting people to our Convention on the …”
I took the paper and was about to close my door when I remembered my grace and charm.” Have a very good day ladies.” I smiled that smile that only showed the teeth.. You know; the one that never touched the heart. Then I shut the door.
Turning around, I barged into my guest toilet, located not far from my front door and turned to the full length wall mirror. I had and still have on my lounging Kaftan with a dusting of flour on the left hand side, an evidence of my time in my kitchen. My hair is not bad. True I have no makeup on but there is no way I look like someone who is just roused from sleep. Then I looked at the paper.
"Violence, immorality and global warming, along with
oil spills and other environmental disaster – all
these problems had led concerned people to ask:
WILL HUMANS RUIN THIS EARTH?"
Talk about ruining the earth! Lady, you've tried to ruin my day!! You've just made me feel like a lazy slob who hugs her bed until midday. If only you know what I have achieved this morning and what I still need to do before the end of the day. I felt bad and really small. Then I glanced at the mirror again and smiled, this time for real. Who should be feeling small and embarrassed? Me, in my own home and doing my own thing or this woman who tried to mess my head up by putting her foot in her mouth?
Out of line comments are never pleasant. People must learn to think before they open their mouth. Thoughtless statements can be offensive and such verbal blunders belittle the receiver and chips away confidence.
I now find myself wondering if I am at all like this lady. Have I said some insensitive things to people that left them embarrassed or hurt? If so then I am truly sorry. It is worth thinking positively and saying something complementary at all times.
As for the invitation from the woman in red, it is already resting where it belongs, in my trash can. And I need to go bring my cake out of the oven. It is for a good cause and some folks who are yet unknown to me will enjoy it later. Cheers!
Monday 13 June 2011
Life goes on!
There is no kick in the butt that lands harder than when people start asking why I have abandoned my blog! “Have you run out of ideas,” one asked recently, for which he received a big scowl from me. Me run out of ideas? That would be the day. My head is so packed full of ideas that they disturb my sleep every night. If I could put down all the musings in my head, and find buyers for them, I would be competing with Bill Gates in the riches realm.
No, the ideas are still there. But I did run out of steam and the will to bother. With two rapid demise of loved ones – my mother and mother-in-law and poor health of loved brothers, I decided to withdraw, look inwards and feel sorry for myself. “What a waste of life!” I can now say to myself.
My late father always delighted in telling people that his shoulders were broad enough and mine should have been the same to accommodate all that life threw at me. It’s silly really come to think about it! Nothing would bring back my two mothers and God is healing my brothers. I should put back my forward looking cloak and be me once again. Life goes on.
I like this quote attributed to bestselling author and life coach, Anthony Robbins:
“Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.”
I’m here and must live life to the full. I intend to experience some things, not everything. I promise to take care of myself and my friends, if they let me. I am good at screwing up so nothing new here. Just need to screw up without guilt. I do learn from my mistakes but not all the time. I know that some causes of problems cannot be eliminated but I will certainly eliminate the ‘eliminatables’ and manage others.
I will work hard at not being perfect. That is the bane of my life!
No, the ideas are still there. But I did run out of steam and the will to bother. With two rapid demise of loved ones – my mother and mother-in-law and poor health of loved brothers, I decided to withdraw, look inwards and feel sorry for myself. “What a waste of life!” I can now say to myself.
My late father always delighted in telling people that his shoulders were broad enough and mine should have been the same to accommodate all that life threw at me. It’s silly really come to think about it! Nothing would bring back my two mothers and God is healing my brothers. I should put back my forward looking cloak and be me once again. Life goes on.
I like this quote attributed to bestselling author and life coach, Anthony Robbins:
“Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.”
I’m here and must live life to the full. I intend to experience some things, not everything. I promise to take care of myself and my friends, if they let me. I am good at screwing up so nothing new here. Just need to screw up without guilt. I do learn from my mistakes but not all the time. I know that some causes of problems cannot be eliminated but I will certainly eliminate the ‘eliminatables’ and manage others.
I will work hard at not being perfect. That is the bane of my life!
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