Simplicity Lesson from an Almost 100 Year Old!

Every year for the past 3 years, I've given my Aunt Catherine a beautiful orchid. Each time I visit her, she remarks how the plant is doing and she wonders if it will ever be as beautiful as it once was - if it will flower again.

Last week when I went to see her, her face lit up as she told me to come to see her plants! They had indeed flowered again - almost 2 years later! She said the first thing she does when she comes down in the morning is to look at her plants.

Aunt Catherine will be 100 years old this April and her pure happiness from watching her plant bloom was a reminder to me that the simple things in life are what really matter. That watching a flower bloom is in essence a spiritual practice which brings us back to presence, the Creator, the stillness, the Oneness - all that ever matters.

Connecting with the Earth through Gardening

Yesterday, I planted a garden with my girls and my father. What a wonderful experience for all of us to feel the Earth in our hands, to see the critters whose homes we disturbed as we turned the soil, and to be outside just getting dirty. My 9-year-old has a green thumb; however, my 12-year-old is not much of an outdoors woman but even she planted a few! I realized how much of a great bonding experience this was - with the family and with the Earth!

Fortunate to Have Great Schools...

I am fortunate to have two wonderful schools for my children to attend. Not only are their schools diverse, they are also environmentally conscious!

My youngest daughter is in the 3rd grade and is a member of Energy Savers - a volunteer group of students that encourage energy saving throughout the school. They've tied a classroom point system to reward the classrooms that keep their lights off when not in use and designed energy saving posters to hang up around the school. Also, the school hosts "Trash Free Tuesdays" when the children are rewarded for not having any trash in their lunches.

My oldest daughter is in 7th grade and attends a Maryland Green School (http://www.maeoe.org/greenschools/). There are a lot of trees and a stream in the back of her school and as part of her Student Service Learning, she and her classmates participate in stream cleaning, ridding the area of invasive species, and making trails.

Having my childrens' school reinforce love and concern for the Earth and our environment is such a blessing!

Tree Connect

I was honored on Friday to work with children at a school in DC. We read My Mom Hugs Trees together; talked about the importance of trees; stepping over bugs we see outside; giving thanks for the Sun, and taking care of the Earth.

It was a beautiful day outside so we headed out to find a tree to connect with! The children took turns hugging the tree and then they were instructed to place one hand on the tree, close their eyes and take a moment to feel the tree - I asked them what they felt - I got answers like "It's rough" "It's alive" "It feels good"...

Then I asked the children to send the tree some love, to imagine love flowing from their hearts, through their arms, and into the tree. In that moment I felt overjoyed because in essence this is what Solar Publishing is all about - connecting children with nature!

When you support us - you support children!

Serendipity

In my senior year of high school my Religion teacher gave us all a present - one word that summed us up - mine was serendipitous. I had to look up it - 1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. 2. good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job she applied for. I wasn't sure how this fit me at the time.

But now, many moons later, I have come to understand. Only what I call serendipitous now has nothing to do with luck! But everything to do with following my path and being open to allow the blessings to flow forth!

Yesterday, I received the final edits on My Mom Eats Tofu and when the editor emailed me back these were her exact words...

"I am not sure if you know this, but I am also a vegan :-) and therefore have vested interest in your book."

Serendipitous?

Favorite children's book when u were little!

Solar Publishing is on a mission - we want to impact the world through our children's books! Don't you think it's amazing that you can recall your favorite books as a child? Just how much do children's books impact a child's life?

"Old Miss Twiggley sat in a tree with her dog named Puss and a color TV - she did what she liked and she liked what she did but when company came Miss Twiggley hid" - this is a line from one of my favorite books I read as a child and I recall it like I read it yesterday! It was the story of a recluse who lived in a tree and whose only friends were bears but she shows love and compassion toward her townspeople when she welcomes them into her home during a flood.

One day I want a child to recall "My mom is one a kind, another mom like her must be hard to find. Mom hugs trees and she doesn't mind when spiders and ants go crawling up her pants!" (excerpt from My Mom Hugs Trees)

What are some of your favorite books from your childhood?

Words From a Fisherman...

Yesterday my co-worker asked me if I wanted to go on a fishing trip he was organizing. I said, "Come on - you know I don't fish!"

He said, "Oh, I forgot you're a vegetarian! I feel that way about killing deer but not fish. Isn't that crazy? I guess I just wasn't raised as a hunter."

Is one life more valuable than another?