Books and banter by W.H.Manke

We’ve had days and days of day long fog now.  It’s almost to the point of getting people down.  So to cheer us all up and to hopefully dispel that grey mist here is a bit of humor.

A grade three teacher teaching about the circulation system tried to make it relevant to her young charges with an example.  “Students,” she said, “when I stand on my head for a while blood rushes to my head.  How can you tell that it does?”

Mary put up her hand and when called on said, “You’re face turns all read.”

“Good answer, Mary.  That’s exactly what happens because of the extra blood.  But tell me how is it that when I stand up straight for a while my feet don’t turn all red?”

Without missing a beat Joey called out, “That’s cause your feet aren’t empty!”

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The past week reminded us in this part of the world that autumn has taken a grip on our days.  Rain pitched into our faces.  Wind tore at our clothes.  Dampness chilled us.  But summer’s memories remain strong, and remind us that autumn reigns only for a season. 

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Listening to tourists chatter who visit here and marvel at the beauty they see in our area I wonder if it has all become common place to me.  Have the voices of daily tasks and news channels drowned out the songs of nature’s bounty?

So for September at least let me purpose to have eyes that see and ears that hear and a heart in tune with what is wholesome and beautiful in our world.                                 

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Over the years I’ve learned that each day presents us with its own delights, surprises and difficulties.  Prolonged dreary weather and unwanted circumstances can be powerful agents of doom and gloom that can rob us of contentment.   What is the secret to rise above these external conditions and remain centered?

I believe we can rise above a day’s wind and weather by making two conscious decisions.  Thinking of each day as a gift is the first decision to make.   The second is the act of seeing the beauty each day presents.  Cloud formations paint awesome  pictures as do the waves in a troubled sea and the cover of snow on the barren ground.   

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For the next few weeks I want to change my weekly posts of  encouragement in ten words to things I’ve learned.  I have been around the block a few times.  I’ve made good choices and bad ones, and in the process I’ve learned a few things.  Along with that I will continue with a question that will require a bit of thought to solve and so will provide some exercise for the brain.

Here for the last week of May is something I’ve learned.      

I’ve learned that happiness doesn’t depend on what you have, but whom you have.

And who do you think does this? What creature walks using four legs at first, three legs at last and two legs most of the time in between?

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For a while now I have neglected to post  words of encouragement,  inspiration and reflection .  It’s time this weekend that I make this right.

We all see, hear or touch things each day that, were we to take the time to reflect on them, they would fill us with wonder.  Just this afternoon I noticed a few plants I had planted recently drooping.  They had not benefited much from the showers of yesterday.   The breeze, I noticed bend them this way and that and seemed to contribute to their plight.  I looked at these plants again two hours after I had watered them.  What a difference!  They now looked strong and vibrant and even seemed to dance with the breeze.  So here in ten words or less is a little encouragement and inspiration.

                 Let  others

                   hear you

                    wonder.                                                                                                                                   

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It’s been a couple weeks since I posted in ten words or less a weekend encouragement.  So, I want to do this today.  Take a moment and consider these few words:  

              Feast on the beauty far and near and give thanks.

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Our feelings are often shaped by what we see around us.  Cloudy, wet and cool days can bring on the blues.  The sight of a snake invokes fear in many.  Seeing an early flower in a flower bed covered in snow can give us a feeling that spring is not far off.  Feelings are a state of our mind.  Think of flowers on a cool, cloudy day.  So here in ten words or less is this week’s encouragement.

Flowers also bloom when the day is cloudy and cold.           

And the riddle to keep your mind sharp is to make meaning from this following group of words.

by not be troubled let day your a cloudy heart

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I once heard a Don Cossack men’s choir sing a number of their folk songs.  Not only did they sing beautifully, but the lyrics of many of their songs spoke of experiences we all hold in common, and so they touched me deeply.  Even now, after many years have passed since I heard them sing, I find myself sometimes humming one of their tunes.  The title of one of the songs they sang was “Alle Tage ist kein Sontag”.  Translated it means every day it isn’t Sunday.  The words of that song reminded each of us  listening that in addition to the Sundays of life some days are laden with storm clouds.

Well, the weatherman predicted lots of clouds and rain for this weekend.  Kids sometimes call rain liquid sunshine, but for many others it makes the day gloomy.

So what can I say in ten words or less that’s an encouragement for this weekend?  Maybe this will help.

At the end of every storm the sun will appear.

Have a fine

weekend in spite

of the rain.

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Yesterday we celebrated British Columbia’s first Family Day holiday .  We chose to enjoy ourselves.  We didn’t do anything grand or unusual, but little things we enjoy doing like having lunch with a couple of our grandsons.  At the end of the day I did another something I enjoy doing, planning what to write for this week’s encouragement in less than ten words and the first of the week riddle.  

This week the encouraging words and the riddle are rolled into one.  Unscramble the nine words for this week’s encouragement.

 to you in spread must your wings fly order 

There are at least a couple ways to put the words in order to make the message clear.

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