Fireside | i am april rucker - Part 4

Many moons ago when the world was still very young, the plant and animal life was enjoying the beautiful summer weather. But as the days went by, autumn set in, and the weather became colder with each passing day. The winds began to brush the skies and river tops, whistling though the mountains and trees. The grass and flower folk were in a sad condition, for they had no protection from the sharp cold. Just when it seemed that there was no hope for living, great spirit who looks after the things of creation came to their aid. Saying, that the leaves of the trees should fall to the ground, spreading a soft, warm blanket over the tender roots of the grass, trees and flowers.

To repay and thank the trees for the loss of their leaves, he allowed them one last bright array of beauty. That is why, each year, during Indian summer the trees take on their pretty farewell colors of red, gold, and brown. After this final display they turn to their appointed task-covering the Earth with a thick rug of warmth against the chill of winter.

“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”
– Robin Williams

The Story of the Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours
as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn’t go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings
would enlarge and expand enough to support the body,
Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest
of its life crawling around.
It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness
and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly
to get through the opening was a way of forcing
the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready
for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles and graciously watching
struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We will not be as strong as we could have been
and we would never fly.

Once a group of 500 people were attending a seminar. Suddenly the speaker stopped and decided to do a group activity. He started giving each person a balloon. Each person was then asked to write their name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

The people were then let into that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written on it within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their name, colliding with each other, pushing around others and there was utter chaos.

At the end of 5 minutes no one could find their own balloon. Then, the speaker asked each person to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The speaker then began, “This is happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is.

Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness; you will get your own happiness. And this is the purpose of human life…the pursuit of happiness.”

In this African tribe, when someone does something harmful, they take the person to the center of the village where the whole tribe comes and surrounds them.

For two days, they will say to the man all the good things that he has done. The tribe believes that each human being comes into the world as a good. Each one of us only desiring safety, love, peace and happiness. But sometimes, in the pursuit of these things, people make mistakes. The community sees those mistakes as a cry for help. They unite then to lift him, to reconnect him with his true nature, to remind him who he really is, until he fully remembers the truth of which he had been temporarily disconnected: “I am good.”

Shikoba Nabajyotisaikia!

NABAJYOTISAIKIA, is a compliment used in South Africa and means: “I respect you, I cherish you. You   matter to me.”

In response, people say SHIKOBA, which is: “So, I exist for you.”

This is the month that we honor our mothers!

All mothers, grandmothers, mentors that acted as mothers, Mother Earth, Mother God.

I am so grateful for Mother Earth, for her air and water for her mountains and sunsets, for the trees, the tea leaves, the oceans, for how we walk on her everyday and she continues to hold us everyday and embrace every moment of every day.

to remember her, connect with her, forge ahead with her. May her red roses fall upon us every day.

I honor my 4 precious grandmothers who send love from the other side. I am so grateful for my mom. My mom, Diane, is the funniest person I know and has a huge precious heart. I wish her a happy Mother’s Day, with so much love! I wish all of your mothers, you who are mothers and you who will be mothers Happy Mothers Day!

Such an exciting time of year! Many of you may not know I grew up in west Texas and it is bluebonnet season there now. So I wanted to share some of my roots with you. And yes it really does look like this all over Texas right now.

“I like the bluebonnet because a field of this Texas flower seems just to have burst from the ground and it trembles subtly, making it very beautiful.”
-Julian Onderdonk, 1914.