not sure if you all do, so I am passing this along. We all need to plant
some happiness each day . Take Care.
The best thing to happen to mornings since the Sun!
Your morning thought for the day:
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy:
They are the charming gardeners who make our
souls blossom.
-- Marcel Proust
How is your garden doing this summer? Have you been out getting
your hands dirty? Attracting some hummingbirds? Weeds getting the
best of you?
Today, Nancy provides us a great story about how "growing
flowers are much like growing happiness." You'll enjoy it. Why
don't you tell us how you "plant" happiness?
We also have a new poem to present to you that could become
quite the classic. In the spirit of Dr. Seuss, we offer you the
"Raggedly Taggedly Higgledy Man" by one of our esteemed contributors,
P.S. Gifford.
___________________________________________
PLANTING HAPPINESS
by Nancy B. Gibbs
Last year, I placed a flower pot on my patio.
It was only half-filled with potting soil. There wasn't any
sign of life. There were no seeds to grow. So as you can imagine
the flowerpot remained barren.
Last week, I decided that the neglected flower pot needed a
little lift. I went to a garden shop and checked out the blooming
plants. While trying to decide which flowers to purchase, I went to
another store and ran across some flower seeds. I picked up one of
the packages and read the instructions for planting.
"I am up for the challenge," I thought. Many people have green
thumbs, but I have always insisted that I don't. Either I water my
plants too often or not enough. I either bake the plant in the
sunshine or place it in areas that are too shady. I know some plants
like it hot and wet, while others like it dry and shady. But for the
life of me, I cannot remember which are which.
As I stood holding the envelope of seeds, I felt the urge to see
if for the first time I could actually make something grow. I
purchased several packages and returned home with a gardener's
determination and drive. I immediately planted the seeds in the
almost forgotten flower pot. For a couple of days nothing happened.
But I continued to water the soil.
On the fourth day, I actually saw green sprouts as they had just
broken through the soil. I was so excited. The tiny shoots brought
a smile to my face. I called Roy to come to look at them. Maybe my
thumb wasn't completely off-colored after all! Maybe I could make
something grow!
I thought about how growing flowers are much like growing
happiness. Our lives are sometimes like the empty pot. Our days are
filled with worldly tasks and possessions. But because worldly
things are of such little importance, we lack a feeling of
completeness. We sense there is something missing.
The missing ingredients in my flower pot were the things that
created life itself -- seeds. The things that we may be missing in
life are seeds of hope, love, faith, and determination.
When we accept the fact that our life gardens will produce
exactly what we plant, we become more concerned as to what we plant.
I planted a variety of flower seeds that day. I understand that the
zinnia seeds will produce zinnias. The morning glory seeds will
produce morning glories.
Likewise, if I plant happiness in my daily life, low and behold,
I will find joy in everything I do. If I plant negative thoughts
inside my heart, I will only grow more discontented with each passing
day. Whatever is planted inside my heart will grow.
If we plant seeds of hope, we can expect miracles.
When we plant seeds of passion, love will come back to us.
The Bible tells us that without faith we cannot possibly please
God. Shouldn't we all plant seeds of faith? And if we plant seeds
of determination, there is absolutely nothing that can stop us from
being the persons God created us to be. When God is pleased with us,
our blessings multiply much like the blooms produced from a tiny seed.
In the next few days and weeks, I am expecting the tiny sprouts
to grow taller. Then I am expecting a flowerpot filled with
blossoms. The once neglected pot will hold beautiful flowers of
assorted colors, simply because I planted faith along with those few
seeds.
This past weekend, our granddaughters Hannah and Katie came for
a visit. Three-year-old Katie wasn't initially fond of the idea of
returning home. When her Daddy told her that he had missed her, she
looked up at him and whispered, "But Daddy, I was just so happy at
Nana and Pa's."
We laughed together. We played together. We blew bubbles in
the backyard. We watched television together. We went to the zoo.
And we went on a picnic. The weekend was ours to do nothing but to
plant seeds of happiness in the hearts of our granddaughters.
Are you planting seeds of happiness in the hearts of those you love?
-- Nancy B. Gibbs <gibbs.nancy at yahoo.com>
___________________________________________
Nancy is an author, weekly newspaper columnist and motivational
speaker residing in the southern part of Georgia. Nancy and her
husband, Roy (also known as Nana and Pa) have been blessed with three
grown children and three precious granddaughters. Nancy's newest
book, "Changing Seasons" has just been released. You can visit her
website here:
http://www.nancybgibbs.com
___________________________________________
RAGGEDLY TAGGEDLY HIGGLEDY MAN
by P.S. Gifford
A long time ago, in a far off place,
I was strolling at my usual pace.
When I suddenly caught the waving hand,
of a raggedly taggedly higgledy man.
I studied his ragged tatted clothes
I studied his face and higgledy nose
then all at once, I had a plan!
Help that raggedly taggedly higgledy man!
"Come with me," I gleefully cried.
(My emotions I found hard to hide.)
"Yes, old man help you I can,
you dear raggedly taggedly higgledy man."
He looked at me with smiling eyes,
"Thank you," he said, "what a surprise!"
He walked with pride and looked quite grand,
for a raggedly taggedly higgledy man.
I took him back to my humble abode
and made him rest his aching load.
As I cleaned him up, how the tears ran,
From the raggedly taggedly higgledy man.
I cooked him a nice spinach pud,
I cooked it up, I cooked it good,
And served it with a piece of ham,
"Eat well raggedly taggedly higgledy man."
He smiled and told me "You are blessed,
You have passed the humanity test."
As he spoke my understanding began.
He's no raggedly taggedly higgledy man.
So if you encounter someone in need
Please help them out, this I plead.
We need to do all, yes all we can
for every raggedly taggedly higgledy man.
-- by P.S. Gifford <psgifford at earthlink.net>
No comments:
Post a Comment