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 LIVING HAPPY     
UPLIFTING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING NEWS FOR OUR MIND, BODY,AND SPIRIT   

From Carole Kane


  Vol. I  No. 23                                                              July 4, 2011

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in this issue
Stretching
A message from Paradise?
Poetry corner - Destiny
Destination: Bonifacio, Corsica
Unconditional love - a true story
Think a little, laugh a little
Your space - for guest writers, ghost writers, and commentators

Dear Friends,

Carole Kane

Carole Kane 

M.A., N.C.C. ret.

Welcome to Living Happy,  a nice way to feel and be our best!  Rather than concentrating on all the "bad" news in today's media, Living Happy is  about good, interesting, and fun things for everyone.

 

This week we have a delicious mix of stories and poetry, with some ideas about our destiny, our hopes and our dreams.

 

Contributor Glynis Hedley writes of an amazing "coincidence" which she experienced during a very sad time of her life.

 

There's a poem from a (very previous, circa 1953) high school girl wondering where life will lead her.

 

Dr. Brad Holway describes his visit to Bonifacio, Corsica and shares some of its history,  which will get you packing! 

 

 In our "Slice of Life" contributor Dimitra Savvidou tells a poignant story of unconditional love between a little boy and a grown-up friend.

 

And my article invites everyone to "stretch" in a new way.

 

Enjoy the jokes.  We all need to laugh - a lot.  It's so good for us - the old "best medicine" that we always hear about.

 

And last, but definitely not least - enjoy the photo of my two cute little neighbors, Murphy and Chance, in their Fourth of July finery!

 

Happy Reading!

Love, Carole XXX OOO

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Stretching                                                                             By Carole Kane

  

There's no doubt about it - stretching is good for us, whether it's stretching our bodies during exercise, stretching a dollar while shopping, or stretching our minds at school.  But there's an important kind of stretching that we sometimes neglect - stretching towards our dreams.

 

Ask young children what they want to be when they grow up.  Their answers usually have nothing to do with earning a living, but are simply fun and of keen interest to each child - ballerina, actor, race car driver, ice cream man.  A few year later - writer, artist, forest ranger, concert pianist, inventor.  Most of us can remember the life we looked forward to when we were children.  Yet many of us got side-tracked, with the need to earn money taking precedence as we matured.  Obtaining our daily necessities somehow blanked out our youthful dreams.

reach for the stars

Reaching for  our dream.

ideachampions.com 

 

Yet, sometimes we hear a little nudge deep inside, whispering "I'm still here - come and get me - let me out..."  Deep inside us our dreams are still there, and we can bring them out if we have courage.  Courage.  Going back to school when we're middle-aged takes courage - but when we stretch towards our goal of a career change, teaching, nursing, business ownership,- how good it feels!  When we reach out and take art lessons and find we are really good at it - how good it feels!  And when the "great American novel" starts to emerge - maybe in the form of writing our memoirs - how good that feels!

 

Right here I want to mention Living Happy and our wonderful contributors, all regular people with regular lives, but we all love to write.  It takes courage to put ourselves "out there" every week for all to see our thoughts; but we are stretching towards our dream of writing, and stretching into different types of writing - risking rejection, baring ourselves to our readers.  And how good it feels!

 

So muster up your courage!  Paint that landscape!  Sign up for piano lessons!  Write that poem!  Take that language class!  Join a community theatre troupe! Open an ice cream shop!  Form your own band and play your music! 

 

Whatever your dream was - is - start stretching!  How good it feels!

 

  Carole

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A message from Paradise?                                                      By Glynis Hedley

 

On the occasion of our eighth wedding anniversary, my husband took me to the island of Madeira.  The beauty of the flowers which we discovered there, particularly the extravagantly-hued strelitzia, or to use its more common name, bird of paradise, was amazing.  Before our departure, we purchased a bulb which we hoped would produce some of these exotic bird-like flowers.  Although it flourished, displaying glossy, luxuriant leaves, much to our regret, it never bloomed.

 

When my husband died, I remembered a conversation we had many years before.  He said that should he die before me, he would somehow try to communicate with me.  However, after his death I did not feel his presence.  One day, feeling particularly lost and alone, I pleaded out loud for him to give me a sign that he was still with me.  I remember saying, "Why don't you make the bird of paradise flower?"

 

Bird of Paradise

olelantana.com.

A few weeks later, I noticed a new shoot and assumed it was just another leaf forming, but I was wrong; it was a flower spike, which eventually turned into a glorious purple and orange flower.

 

Was this a spiritual message or simply a coincidence?  I cannot be sure.  In over twenty years, it had never flowered - nor has it done so since.  Whatever the reason, it gave me some joy and strength at the most difficult time in my life.

 

Glynis Hedley was kind enough to contribute this story all the way from France, where she presently resides.

Poetry Corner

DESTINY

 

by Marlene Boyd

 

As I walk down the road that leads who knows where,
I'll map out my life to avoid future care;

 

On reaching the crossroads, I'll see some one there,
Standing still and staunch and the wind in his hair.
And I'll speak to him so, for he'll recognize me,
"O tell me, kind prophet, what shall I be?"

 

"Shall I be an artist who paints the trees?
Or a wide-eyed vagabond sailing the seas?
Will my life be gay, will I find happiness?
Or will black misfortune over me rest?

 

"O life is such a mystical thing,
For no one but you knows what it will bring!
So tell me kind sir, what shall I be?
I'm filled with anxiety as you can see."

 

With a smile in his eyes, he turned to me,
"At the end of the road, it waits for thee."
 
Contributed by Jo Pico, who found this poem in her high school yearbook.
Marlene Boyd was one of Jo's classmates.
 
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Destination:  Bonifacio, Corsica                         By Dr. Bradley Holway

 

Bonifacio, or "Bunifaziu" as the Corsicans call it, is one of the few remaining places in Europe where you can really feel that you are immersed in the Middle Ages.  Its fjordlike harbor, ringed with cliffs, is stunning; it is said to have been the place where the hostile Laestrogynians rained stones down upon the ships of Homer's Odysseus, sinking most of them and cannibalizing the hapless sailors.

 

The present town was founded by the Genoese in the late 12th Century.  The lower town is at the harborside, where the simple boats of local fishermen dock side-by-side with the fiberglass pleasure craft of the French and Italian social elite, joined by an occasional small cruise ship.  There is also a ferry terminal providing transport to nearby Sardinia.  The place is touristic but charming, its main street lined with cafes, curio shops and seafood restaurants, where the day's catch lies on beds of ice in the front windows.  One can take a motor launch tour of the surrounding coast, viewing sea stacks and visiting dark sea-caves, festooned with stalactites and carved out of the towering limestone cliffs by aeons of pounding waves.

 

The real attraction, though, is the upper town, or

Bonifacio, Corsica citadel and harbor

Bonifacio, Corsica citadel and harbor

theepochtimes.com

citadel, an imposing 13th Century Genoese fort built atop the steep limestone

cliff, some 200 feet above the harbor, offering a view of Sardinia across the Straits of Bonifacio.  The buildings seem to be perched at the edge of the precipice and the narrow streets retain a mediaeval atmosphere, lined with centuries-old houses of poor artisans and palazzi of Genoese "notables".  The locals, mostly descended from the original Genoese families, speak an archaic Ligurian dialect among themselves but are also fluent in Corsican, French and modern Italian.

 

Bonifacio has a colorful and turbulent history; it weathered an Aragonese siege in 1420-21 and produced an unlikely local heroine, one Margherita Bobbia, who organized the young mothers of the town to donate their breast milk to make cheese to feed the Genoese troops.  To Bonifacians, she symbolizes the town's indomitable spirit.

 

This city is a jewel; it reminds me of a tough little flower that has clung to survival on a starkly beautiful, but often hostile, mass of rock.

 

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Unconditional love - a true story                   By Dimitra Savvidou                           

  

Once upon a time it was a little boy, his name Alan. He knew a woman, her name Marie. They had that special days together, playing, talking, watching movies, eating or just taking a nap.
One day, Alan got busy with an empty dash bin. Marie went close to him and explained that it would be better to play with something else as the bin was not very clean. She went into the kitchen trusting him that he would act wisely. Suddenly, she heard him calling her in a great excitement:  "Marie, Marie, come to see!" She rushed into the living room. Alan was standing there smiling and "dressed in" the dash bin! He was like an astronaut!
She nicely but firmly explained to him once again that this was not a good idea and proposed to do something together. Oh! Alan got very upset! He yelled at her and ran as fast as possible to his bedroom, threw himself on his bed, turned his back to Marie and faced the wall. Marie did not know really how to handle a situation like this but she trusted her instinct.
She sat next to him, hugged him and told him that she loved him. He shouted at her that he was very angry and continued to face the wall. She stayed for a while next to him, she said nothing more, covered him with a blanket and walked out.
Food was ready, so she took her book and enjoyed the fresh air outside in the garden. Few minutes later, Alan appeared smiling and laughing like nothing had happened and invited her to play with him.  So, she did.    
woman hugging boy

unconditional love

One hour passed by and suddenly Alan, hugged her and said: "Marie, can I tell you something?"   She positively sighed.  "Marie, I love you!"
 "Alan, I love you too!
More time passed by and as he was playing, went back to her.  "Marie, I am sorry."
"Alan, thank you, and sorry also if I hurt you somehow."

THE END
Dimitra Savvidou is a writer, teacher, and counselor   Find her at www.lovingministry.org 

 

 

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Think a little - laugh a little

 

Murphy and Chance July 4 2011

Waiting for the burgers to be done

"Happy Fourth of July!"

From Murphy and Chance, best neighbors in Freehold New Jersey

 

A blonde walks into a bar.  Ouch!

  

 A French fry walks into a bar and says, "May I have a beer, please?"

 The bartender shakes his head and says, "Sorry, we don't serve food here!"

  

 A magician was driving down the road.  Then he turned into a driveway.

 

 

 

 

          photo contributed by Kim Purdy

 

  

 

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 Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it.  - Arapaho proverb  

 

  

 Don't let yesterday use up too much of today. - Cherokee proverb

  

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.  - e.e. cummings

 

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Your Space - For Guest Writers, Ghost Writers, and Commentators

 

THANK YOU!  to Glynis Hedley, Marlene Boyd (via Jo Pico), Brad Holway, and Dimitra Savvidou, for their interesting, thought-provoking, and poetic contributions this week!

And to Kim Purdy for her adorable picture of Murphy and Chance in their bandannas!

 

Would you like to contribute an article?

     (Whatever form it might be, please try to keep it no more than 250-300 words.) 
 

     - Do you have a little "slice of life" to share?  

 

This Could  be YOU!

                         -  A poem you wrote? 

 

   - A favorite quotation or proverb?

 

            - A really good joke?

 

              - A review of your favorite book or movie?

 

         Do you have comments about Living Happy?

 

   What would you like to see more / less of?

 

For Comments and to Contact Living Happy  click this link. 
 

I'd love to hear from you!  And thanks!!! 

 

 

 Carole XXX 

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