LISTEN TO NATURE....
Hello Boys n' Girls…you know it’s funny, but every time ….and I do mean EVERY time I begin my Gommy’s Goodies and I type ‘Hello Boys and Girls’….I have to backspace and fix it ‘cuz it always comes out BOUYS. But maybe that isn’t a mistake….because what I am wanting to share with you IS meant to ‘bouy’ up you for a bit. Anyway…..what I want to point to today is that I have always loved the quote that says, ‘People come into your lives for a Reason, a Season or a Lifetime’. When you think about that sentiment….you can probably think of people who have been in your life for all of those examples….some are still in your life, some people have left your life for a variety of reasons….and then there are the people you hope will never leave your life…..well, not for a looooong time anyway. But the reality is that not ALL people are supposed to stay in your life....all of the time. And the reason for that is that we all grow and change….and even family members may not always fit well in your life as they once did. Even ‘Blood’ doesn’t always make up what ‘family’ means.
The tricky little part is that we must know when to let go of the people or situations in our life that no longer give us enjoyment or pleasure. We must accept that not everyone is meant to ‘stay’ in our life. I was listening to a radio show yesterday and they were discussing how Friendships can turn into Friend-SHIFTS. The shift is because it isn’t feasible that we or anyone else stays the same forever. If we are doing it right…..we change; hopefully for the better as we mature and learn how life works. For those who it seems may never mature….you probably don’t have anything in common with them any longer…..and it is time to cut the strings. These people will stay with other immature people because that is where they feel comfortable….just as you don’t feel comfortable with them any longer and move on. You know…the old ‘Birds of a Feather’ thingy. The further away from the spectrum we are from another ‘sort’ of person or personality….the less comfortable we feel. Or it may be as simple as you no longer have anything in common with someone as you once did. No worries….it doesn’t make that person ‘bad’…..it just makes that relationship irrelevant in your life now. If someone or something doesn’t bring happiness into your life any longer….just say no to it and/or them. Life is meant to bring joy and happiness….and you are in charge of who you let influence your own life.
This brings me to lessons we can learn from Nature. If we just observe how perfectly Nature operates…..and then apply it to our own lives, we can learn how to live effectively, enjoyably AND effortlessly. As to the ‘cutting off’ of what or who no longer is working in our lives any longer, we can look to Nature. In Nature, even though it is a part of the tree….the tree knows when to let go and allow its leaves to fall away and begin a new cycle. And trees are self-sufficient. If they receive the right amount of sunlight, soil nutrient and water….they will grow. And they grow without needing any amount of cheering on to grow and they don’t need an audience either. They don’t look at the other trees and think, ‘Oh…look at that Elm over there! It is prettier, taller and greener than me!’ Or, “Do all these leaves make me look fat?” What we can learn from the tress is that we should just always do our best and not be worried about anyone else and what THEY are doing. Everything will turn out ok if we mind our own business and wish well for everyone. ANNNNNNND be happy with who WE are and what WE have and stop worrying about what anyone else has or does. You know envy is one of the 7 Deadly Sins (the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation). So stop that!!! OKAY?
Or how about the Sun? The Sun is not biased, it is NOT bigoted, and it shines on everyone. The Sun rises up every day....so you can say that the Sun is always a sure thing, i.e always reliable. Even if there are clouds or rain…..the Sun is still up there….just waiting to come out again and make everything all bright and sunny! The Sun doesn’t say, ‘I don’t feel like getting up today because I had a rip of a night last night.’ Or the Sun doesn’t say, ‘I don’t like the color of that persons’ skin…so I am not going to shine on him.’ I guess you could say then…that the lesson we can learn from the Sun is that we should all play nice together and share our sunshine! And realize also, that it doesn’t take anything away from you if the sun shines on everybody. And another thing to remember is that no matter what happens in our life…..the sun is going to come up tomorrow. It doesn’t stop coming up because ‘WE’ may think the world is over.
And how about how Nature is always changing? We can resist all we want about change….but as the late Congressman Bruce Barton said, "When you are through changing, you are through.” Ask the caterpillar who thought the world was over…..and then turned into a Butterfly. Sometimes we don’t realize what the Universe has in store for us if we are just willing to do a little changing. And if you are still waiting for something you want to come into your life….another good lesson from Nature is patience. As Ralph Waldo Emerson so beautifully pointed out, “Adopt the pace of Nature: Her secret is patience.”
And then there is the Snowflake. The Snowflake is so beautiful, yet it can also be deadly if we don’t have a place to stay warm and find shelter from the falling snow and coldness that comes with it. And there are also no two snowflakes that are alike, but that doesn’t make one snowflake any better than the other one. They are all beautiful in their own way. Lesson? We don’t all have to be the same to be beautiful. And another thing to learn from the Snowflake is that just because something is beautiful….doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you.
That’s it for today BOUYS n’ GURLS……try to use these lessons from Nature because Nature has been around a whole lot longer than we have been and will be here a very loooooong time after we are gone. You can do it…..Gommy is pulling for you. Hugs n' Mush- Gommy
