Transformative Love

 

        

Transformative Love 

I recently finished the novel "Hello Beautiful," Oprah Winfrey selected it as her 100th book club pick. We read it  for our Lenten group's discussion on “Transformative Love”. The author, Ann Napolitano, hails from New Jersey and gained fame with her earlier book, possibly "Dear Edward" marking a mid-career entrance into the world of fiction. A late bloomer in her writing journey, Napolitano has crafted a masterful and emotionally resonant work that delves into the intricacies of love, loss, and forgiveness.

The narrative skillfully explores profound themes, including mental illness, grief, and addiction, portraying characters whose journeys evoke a blend of heart-wrenching and uplifting emotions. This literary piece adeptly captures the nuanced dynamics of relationships, mortality, and familial bonds, highlighting love's transformative power to heal, reconcile, and overcome obstacles.

The portrayal of sisterhood and loyalty within a family of four sisters exemplifies the profound impact of familial love and allegiance. The novel also delves into themes of forgiveness and redemption, particularly through a man's compelling journey of overcoming a tragic past. The relationship between the divorced wife and him serves as a poignant illustration of the crucial role compassion and empathy play in forging meaningful connections. Furthermore, each character undergoes a distinctive journey of individual growth and healing, emphasizing love's transformative nature in their lives.

The book offers a poignant exploration of family, love, and redemption, showcasing love's ability to heal wounds, mend relationships, and foster personal growth. Engaging with the narrative's rich themes and well-developed character dynamics, we are reminded of the enduring strength and beauty inherent in love in all its forms.

Appreciation

 Appreciation

Children find it easy to appreciate the simple things in life where grownups often are preoccupied with burdens of life that keep them from seeing things the same way. 

Appreciation spurs us to do more and care more for those we serve. 

Loving words said with a smiling face can often go a long way in building relationships of trust. 

Adjust

 Life is not waiting for the winds to change 

But it is learning to adjust your sails.

Balloons are like Happiness

One day a Professor in his class gives a balloon to every student. He instructs  them to inflate it, write their name on it, and throw it in the Auditorium. Then he tells them to find their balloon with their name on it within five minutes. A frantic search ensues, however no one finds their balloon.

 The professor tells the students to take the first balloon they find and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Surprisingly within five minutes everyone has their own balloon.

The Professor says to the students, “These balloons are like happiness. If everyone is focused on looking for their own happiness, they will never find it. However if they help other people find their happiness, in doing so they will find their own. 

 The ordinary and simple things in life can bring great happiness.

What is the key to Happiness?

 As they say Gratitude is the best Attitude. 

If we practice Gratitude 

We will find Happiness 

Bubbling up within us.

Don’t take things Personally

Find your passion and put it into action.

Think Outside the Box

In the Boston Marathon in 1967, there was only one registered woman runner. At that time it was considered as a race only for men. Katherine Switzer decided to run and blaze a trail for all women in the years to come. During the race she was physically abused and attacked by some men. But her passion for running and her vision for the future of women marathon runners made her a historical legend for the ages.

Don’t take things Personally

As children we used to sing a long, “Sticks and Stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” It takes a certain amount of toughness to add value to yourself. Albert Einstein was a slow learner as a child but through persistence he is considered one of the most brilliant men in our life time.

 Work during Four Seasons of a Vineyard

The work in a Vineyard follows a 4 season cycle. During winter the main work is hand pruning the vine. The branches that will yield fruit are determined laying the foundation for the harvest and the others are cut off. Come Spring the shoots begin to grow, the leaves begin to show, the buds break, the vines are very sensitive and have to be protected from vagaries of the weather. By the end of Spring the vines begin to bloom. By summer the soil needs to broken into and fertilized. The grapes slowly turn into deeper shades of red and sweeten under the warm summer sun. By the end of summer the grape picking season starts. As Autumn begins the grapes are ready to be harvested. After collecting the grapes a calm descends and the vines rest.  

Stay home and slow down the spread of Corona Virus

Stay home and slow down the Corona Virus

The best way to fight the Corona Virus spread is focus on 4 key areas
(World Health Organization)

1. Prepare and be ready
2. Detect, Protect and treat
3. Reduce transmission
4. Innovate and Learn

What protective measures can we take?
1. Cleaning hands frequently
2. Avoid touching eyes, mouth and nose.
3. Change out of clothes worn in public places.
4. Wear fresh set of clothes every day.
5. Catch up over the phone or conference calls on Google/Skype.
6. Avoid touching metallic surfaces without Clorox wiping it down.

 Do not panic but pray, meditate, enjoy your family or group of friends you can rely on if you get sick.

What is Social Distancing?

To make a conscious effort to stay away from close contact with people and hopefully reduce transmission of the virus to or from the people.

Why Social Distancing?

The coronavirus is coming at an exponential speed: gradually, and then suddenly. It’s a matter of days. Maybe a week or two. To prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed social distancing will slow down this pandemic.

What is the worst case when the pandemic hits its peak? 

Healthcare systems will be overwhelmed. Fellow citizens will be treated in the hallways. Exhausted healthcare workers will break down. Some of them will die.They will have to decide which patient gets the oxygen and which one dies. 

Plan of Action?

Make sure you have enough food to tide over the time when you are sick. Stay home and try to slow down the virus by social distancing. 

Remember if we all come together we shall overcome this virus and not be at its mercy.

The link goes to an article with lots of charts, data and models with plenty of sources:

• How many cases of coronavirus will there be in your area?
• What will happen when these cases materialize?
• What should you do?
• When?

CLICK HERE

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca

Is there enough food for all?

If there is global co-operation there can be enough of food to go around for all

David Cameron's message to anti-hunger

Taking on Tyson

Who would have thought the Iron Man Tyson would have a soft side for birds!! Love at first sight ! Fly the birds ! One day at a time.

Mike transforms himself through his love for pigeons, something he enjoyed as a child. He finds peace raising and racing pigeons.

Talking about Racing Pigeons

Among his many feathers in his cap, today he is the nations most famous pigeon lover who spending time with Queen Elizabeth's Royal Pigeon Handler in England,

Watch videos from Animal Planet's series TAKING ON TYSON, where boxing legend Mike Tyson goes beyond just breeding and raising pigeons -- he races them for

See how pigeons saved this man from the streets.

Brilliant Beasts: Pigeon Genius

National Geographic - Brilliant Beasts: Pigeon Genius

 A really nice series on pigeons by National Geographic

 

 

Fantail Pigeon Breeding

See Ten of the Top most beautiful Fantail Pigeon Breeding Pairs. Just to watch them dance is one of the most entertaining and calming past times.

1. Yellow Tailmark Fantail
   
2. Rostowskie Fantail
   
3. English Shield Fantail
   
4. English Body Mark Fantail
5. Ordinary English Fantail
6. Russian Fantail
7. Belgium Fantail
8. Indian Tailmark
9. Black Fancy Fantail
   

Pigeon farming is very interesting,profitable and pigeons are very popular domestic bird.

Here we are describing more about the advantages of pigeon farming and steps for starting this lucrative business,

https://youtu.be/rZw5pWfwfIA

See some of the most exotic pigeons from all over the world

Lamberton Racing Pigeons

Great website that gives a lot of information on raising and racing pigeons.

Lamberton Racing Pigeons

http://www.drjohnlamberton.com/

Documentary on different exotic breeds of pigeon

A documentary on different exotic breeds of pigeon grown in the terrace aviary of a city dweller at Ernakulam. Collection of more than twenty five exotic breeds and their rearing aspects. This documentary is in Malayalam.

8 Signs of Unhealthy Gut

Gut Health - If our Digestive tract ie the gut if unhealthy it can lead to many diseases. What you eat can directly influence the way your emotions and your mind. There is a three way relationship between your brain, gut and bacteria inside the gut.

8 signs of Unhealthy Gut

• Digestive issues like acid reflux, bloating, gas or diarrhea. 
• Sugar cravings. ... 
• Bad breath. ... 
• Food allergies or sensitivities. ... 
• Moodiness, anxiety and depression. ... 
• Skin problems like eczema. ... 
• Diabetes. ... 
• Autoimmune disease and suppressed immunity.

Growing Trend

There is a marked increase in the number of pilgrims seeking peace by going to visit religious sites so reports Mary Jordan, Washington Post Foreign Service.

Todd M. Johnson, of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, says 7 percent (150 million people) of the world's Christians go on pilgrimages each year. She says 2.1 million people went to Mecca in December 2006 and an estimated 70 million Hindus went to the Ganges River, India in January and February alone for spiritual cleansing.

Is this an internet boom or a population explosion?

Find what you love

Steve Jobs wearing jeans and sandals under his black robe at his commencement address at Stanford University challenged the graduating class with three stories from his life.

The first "Connecting the Dots" was about his experience at getting a good quality education. His biological mother was an unwed graduate student who wanted him to go to college. Although she chose a lawyer's family to adopt him, they declined hoping to adopt a daughter. He was later adopted by a working-class couple — neither of whom had college degrees but pledged to send him to college. He said that although he started off in a top class school, he later found that it was not what he was looking for. He found that he was learning things he had no desire to understand. At seventeen he could not see the value in a good quality education at the cost of a heavy financial burden on his middleclass working parents. So after dropping out he decided to drop in to take the courses he really was interested in. His drop ins at Reed College calligraphy classes helped in developing beautiful typography in PCs when he designed the Mac 10 years later.

The second story was about love and loss. Having found what he loved to do, Steve decided to start a company with his friend Steve Wozniak when he was twenty years old. Apple grew from just the two of them in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. A year after he released the greatest PC on earth, the Macintosh, he was fired from his job. The company he created slipped from his grasp into the hands of people he hired to run it for him. Picking up the pieces of his now broken life he started to wonder where or what he would do next. He felt he was going through a phase of public humiliation. Yet he persevered and decided to pursue his beloved profession. Despite the rejection, he was convinced of his love for his job and this prompted him to enter into one of the most creative periods of his life. In the next five years he started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, got married, and started a family. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer-animated feature film, "Toy Story," and today is regarded as the most successful animation studio in the world. He learned that at times life hits you with a brick, but you should never lose faith. Be in love with what you do, and believe that it is great work.

The third story is about death. When he was 17 he read a quote that went something like "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." When he was fifty he was diagnosed with a terminal cancer. He was asked to say his goodbyes to friends and family. This had a lasting impression on his life. The thought of death made him value his life even more. He realised that every moment of his life was precious. He said, "Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart, and intuition." On further investigation the doctors diagnosed it to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. He ended his speech saying "stay hungry and stay foolish." Pursue your goals with an ardent desire to fulfill your deepest longing to do what you love doing.

The World is Flat

A Newyork Times award winning editor Thomas L. Friedman writes about the new revolution that is changing the face of business today. He asks the pertinent question, "Where were you when the world went flat?" The internet is a powerful channel to bring the world to your door step. In his latest book, The World is Flat, Friedman describes how Xrays of someone in the USA can be read by a radiologist in India, or your travel agent could be someones grand mother sitting at home in a bath robe.

He goes on to explain that the lowering of the trade and political barriers and the fast paced internet revolution has enabled this transformation in the global business environment. The communication lines between people all across the globe have become so cheap that he says

” Today, “individuals and small groups of every color of the rainbow will be able to plug and play.”

He ends his book with a story about Abraham George who started Shanthi Bhavan. A school started for very poor untouchable children of India, who are given a good quality education. George believes that when these children receive a world class education they can aspire for careers that they would never have imagined if they remained in their poor living conditions. The world today needs more people who use their imagination to have a vision for the positive growth for the world, who will bring about the stability that the world needs.

Friedman says that those who live with bad memories of exploitation and terrorism will be those who will continue to imagine ways to unleash their anger. He makes us ponder why some peoples life's path makes them to strive for the joy of destruction, while others journey through the path that leads them through the joy of creation. He says we need people who wake up every morning with new ideas, and are willing to use their imagination to make this a better world.

World's Greatest Investor for Good

Warren Buffett, the world's most admired investor and second richest man, plans to donate 85 per cent ($44 billion) of his wealth to charity. More than 83 per cent of Buffett's stock of Berkshire Hathway will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is already worth about $30 billion. This foundation gives grant for medical research and education. Warren Buffett is convinced that Bill Gates will be able to disperse it better than anybody else in the world. Bill hopes to eliminate 20 of the top diseases in the world today and better the system of education. Melinda Gates looks towards finding a vacine for the AIDS virus.

The two simple values on which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is based upon are

* All lives—no matter where they are being led—have equal value.

* To whom much has been given, much is expected.


This is probably the largest donation by an individual that has been made in recent years. His astute understanding of this world and the needs of the people has prompted him to make this very generous donation. His magnamity is being well received all over the world. In a world that is being torn apart by wars and rumours of wars it is great to see the impact of the lives of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

An extract from Wikipedia on the life that Warren Buffett leads.

"Despite his immense wealth, Buffett is famous for his unpretentious and frugal lifestyle. He continues to live in the same house in Omaha he bought in 1958 for $31,500, although he also owns a summer house in Laguna Beach, California. His annual salary from Berkshire Hathaway of $100,000 is nominal by the standards of senior executive remuneration in the United States."