THE PURPOSE OF PURPOSE

Everything in nature has a purpose.  Everything.  

Even the long stringy things in bananas have a purpose.  Aside from being an annoyance to remove every time you peel a banana, the purpose of those annoying long stringy things called Phloem Bundles (pronounced Flom) is to carry nutrients to all parts of the banana during the growth process. Once its purpose is served, the phloem bundles make bananas one of the world’s most perfect and nutritionally complete foods.  The banana can then serve its purpose by being consumed by animals (including us) for the enjoyment and benefit of our bodies. Without the long stringy things, all you would have is a flavorful mushy edible treat that has no value when consumed.

The majority of nature functions without the ability or need to question its purposes or subsequent use.  Nature simply is, and nature simply does, so the final product of nature apart from any outside tampering, is consistently as it should be according to its creation and purpose.

Knowing that little nugget of information begs the question: why then, if human beings are part of nature, is purpose so elusive and hard to define in most lives?

A TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL JACKSON

I was supposed to marry Michael you know.  When I was a little girl about five or six years old I wanted to marry him and made my marriage declaration to the whole family. 

I think we made a cute couple back then!

While obviously that never happened, my adoration and respect for the musician, artist, and dancer that was Michael Jackson never faded through the years, especially as I look back and realize that his musical genius influenced every decade of my life.

His gifts transcended time.
His talent transcended genre.
His creative genius surpassed standard.
His dancing went beyond the boundaries of gravity. 
His life was too brief.
His death was too soon.

I just watched This Is It a few days ago and I admit, I cried again. 

So on this anniversary of his untimely death on June 25, 2009, I thought I would share one favorite video (there are so very many favorites) for every decade of my life as a tribute to the memory of Michael Jackson whom I believe to be the greatest musical genius of my lifetime.

Warren Buffett's Philanthropic Pledge

~~ My philanthropic pledge ~~

Click on Link

Could you imagine being able to give away 99% percent of your wealth and still live comfortably on the remaining 1%?  

Have you ever thought about which charities you are passionate about and which charities you would like to give to?

 Giving from the Heart

This is an amazing pledge by an amazing man. 

May it inspire and call each of us to greater giving of our time, talent and treasure to benefit our families, our communities, our country and the world!

~Solissea

PASS THE BREAD PLEASE!

 

Known as the “staff of life” the origin of bread can be traced back thousands of years to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, and even before recorded history.  It has fed every civilization for thousands of years.  Bread has a long history for a reason. It is a healthy and nutritious food that fills the stomach as well as the soul. Even the Lord's Prayer teaches us to request of God Give us this day our daily bread- meaning not merely loaves, but moral and spiritual sustenance.

The request for daily bread in the Lord’s Prayer had never manifest more clearly as when my mother was in a coma for seven weeks after having a severe brain hemorrhage. During that critical time when life and death were the moment-to-moment concerns, I learned to ask not for another week, or another month, or the rest of what I thought should be her life, but simply for whatever was needed to handle whatever the day brought.  It is a lesson I will never forget. It was on July 24, 2006, eight days into her coma while sitting at my mom’s hospital bedside that I wrote this in my journal:

Where tomorrow is not promised, I have learned to ask only for daily bread.

There was no guarantee she would survive; there was no promise of her awakening; and there was certainly no prognosis as to how functional she would be if she did both survive and awaken.  All we had was the very moment we were in and somehow that had to be enough because any other possibility was too unknown and far too overwhelming. It was not only my personal greatest test of faith, but also the best lesson in learning  how to ask for and live on daily bread which is so essential to life.  So, I would like to humbly share  little slice of bread with my readers.