Nature's Details

Declare Saturday "Burn Newspaper Day"

2010-09-10T04:39:00.000-07:00

My husband is just outraged that the media has given world-wide attention to Gainesville pastor Terry Jone's bigotry by spreading his hateful message world-wide.

This is such a perfect example of how the media can effect and impact the emotions and thoughts of not just a country, but the entire world.

We wake up in the morning and read a headline and our thoughts turn to either hate or love, depending on what the media chooses to focus on.

In protest of this irresponsible journalism, my husband has declared Saturday "Burn a Newspaper Day"

In memory of Lou Poulos

2009-10-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

“What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.” Eleanor Powell

To the Poulos family,

I cannot admit that I knew Lou for a long time. All I can do is regret that I did not.

But I can say that I knew Lou well, because I felt the depth of his kindness and generosity.

When I was experiencing my own sadness from the loss of my mother, Lou stepped in and offered his generosity. It was no simple words of sympathy. No card or flowers. It was a tree. A magnificent, beautiful oak tree that he donated and planted in a public park to live and grow as a memorial to my mother.

The offer was so generous, that I didn’t know how to graciously accept it. I kept offering to pay him. I kept wondering what I should do in return.

“Don’t be silly,” I was told. “That’s just the way Lou is. He wants to do it.”

And so, Lou planted my mother’s tree. I called it her Giving Tree, because it reminded me of a children’s story I once read about a tree that was always willing to give. After my mother died, I realized that she was always teaching me lessons of kindness and love, up until the last days that we shared together.

And now, in my heart, that tree will always be Lou’s Giving Tree, as well. For even as I watched him put that tree into the ground, I knew that he was planting much more than a tree. He was already teaching me lessons about how generous and kind we all can be.

I am so sorry for the sense of loss that you all must be feeling. But I do have two thoughts that I hope will help you through this time of grief.

The first thought is that you all contributed to the kind of person that Lou was. He was fortunate to grow up in a loving family. And he was fortunate enough to learn from your love and grow into the kind of person that he was.

And the second thought is that you were all fortunate enough to grow up with him and learn from his love and grow into the kind of people that you are, too.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Betsy Franz

My Mother's Giving Tree

2009-10-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

It was probably around 1974 or 1975 that I first read the book, The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein. I worked in a public library back then, which to me was tantamount to making daily visits to one of the rooms of Heaven. I love books – both reading them and discussing them with others. It is a love that was instilled in me from an early age by a mother that taught us to read long before we learned to do much of anything else.

Although The Giving Tree is considered a children’s book, like many of Silverstein’s books, it has a powerful message for people of all ages. The message is about unconditional, lasting love and it is depicted through the relationship of a young boy and a tree.

I’m sure when I first discovered the book, I took it home to share it with my mother. She loved books as much as I did, and the message was one that I knew she would appreciate.

My mother, Ruth Lay Stabler, passed away on September 7, 2009. During the last ten years of her life, although her mind was slowly slipping away, she was still my constant giving tree. During those final years, I learned more about love and kindness and the power of laughter and importance of appreciating each moment of love than I have ever learned before. Like the tree in Silverstein’s book, she was my Giving Tree, teaching powerful lessons up until the end.

On October 13, 2009, Lou Poulos Landscaping of Malabar, Florida is very generously donating and planting a large oak in memory of my mother in Gleason Park in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida.

I wish that there were a way for me to encourage every person that sees that tree to read the book and appreciate its lessons. I wish I could just put a bench beneath the tree and always have the book there to encourage others to read it and absorb its wonderful story of lasting love. But of course, I can’t.

If you haven’t read The Giving Tree yet, I encourage you to do so. Why not check it out from your local library, and find a good tree to sit beneath and give it a read. I think it will make the tree very happy.

The Comfort of Nature

2009-09-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

My mother passed away early this morning after a slow but not entirely unfriendly relationship with Alzheimer's. Since I inherited my strong love of nature from my mother, it seemed appropriate for me to spend my day in nature today alone with my thoughts.

But nature had another plan and I was anything but alone.

When I first looked outside this morning, the garden was filled with butterflies! Swallowtails and zebra longwings were feasting on the flowers while white peacocks were basking in the dew covered grass. The air was filled with the joyful chittering of migrating birds. I saw many I recognized, including black and white warblers, worm eating warblers, male and female redstarts, prairie warblers, titmice and others. I saw both a male and a female ruby throated hummingbird even though I haven't seen either for months.

But the most exciting wonder that I experienced this morning involved a tiny baby turtle and a huge barred owl.

My husband was digging around the house and unearthed a baby turtle that was about as big as a half dollar. I think it was a box turtle but it was so small that it was hard to tell.

I wanted to move him away from where we might step on him so I walked a little ways into our woods and laid him on the ground. Almost immediately a huge barred owl swooped down and landed less than a foot away from us, presumably with his eye on the turtle. Startled, I waved my arm at him and he flew to an oak tree branch where he has been sitting ever since.

I moved the baby turtle to another location, and spent the rest of the day enjoying the birds, bees and butterflies and wonderful thoughts about a mother that gave me the greatest gift of all -- a deep love and appreciation for the wonders of nature.

Let Your Love Flow!!

2009-09-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

I don't have an IPod, but if I did, this song would be on it!

The Religion of Laura Munson

2009-08-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

Back in 1991, I wrote my own religion.

On a rainy afternoon, I sat down and cobbled together all of my beliefs and philosophies about life -- all of the wisdom I had gained from years of living and reading self-help books. I jokingly called it "The Religion of Betsyism". To this day, whenever my life gets a little off-track, I can re-read that ten page credo and get back on the path that is right for me.

I believe that everyone would benefit if they took the time to figure out and write down what they really believe in, and what principles help to guide their life. Most people never do.

I believe that Montana writer Laura Munson has, however. And I think that her personal religion has helped her through some very difficult times, including the huge stumbling block that she and her husband hit while travelling the road to happily-ever-after.

Munson recently had an essay in the New York Times about a snag that she and her husband ran into in their relationship. She received hundreds of comments about the article on her website and many of the people seemed to be asking her for some quick and pert answers to solve all of their own marital missteps. They wanted a quick fix. Marital repair made simple.

But Laura's responses make it clear that getting to a personal place of strong resolve takes practice. Here are her words from one of her latest blog posts called Drowning to the Self, dated August 22, 2009.

"A lot of people have asked me to let them in on how I achieved some level of inner chill, calm, harmony during my husband’s dis-affection. I wish I had a stock answer. I wish I could give it away free in the streets. But I can’t. It can be inspired by spiritual practice– praying, meditating, communing with nature, one’s sense of the Divine, being with animals– but the place where I felt the most centered and calm last summer and namely in that moment in that river…is more of a state of mind. Almost trance-like."

I believe that Laura has found her own place of strength - her own personal religion - which helps to get her through the tough times and the crises. She has found what works for her. And like any religion, her truth will undoubtedly contains elements that will help inspire many others.

I am one of many, many new Laura Munson fans who can't wait to read her new book, which is expected to be published in April of 2010.

Until then, I'll leave you with some words from my own personal philosophy, written on January 10th, 1991:

"I close wishing you all the love that you'll accept from life, all the peace that you can find, and all the adventure of defining (and finding) your own personal religion.

May God, Love and Peace (whatever they may be to you) guide your way."

~Betsy S. Franz

Cat Teaches Bored Human to Play Catch

2009-08-28T18:35:00.001-07:00

Look at this. My friend's cat taught him how to play fetch!

The 4-Leaf Clover that Won Me a New House

2009-08-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my wallet last night and there, hidden behind my drivers license, I found this old 4-leaf clover. I got a laugh out of it because it reminded me of the time I tried to sell it on eBay.

You see, its not just any 4-leaf clover. Its the one that I had stuffed inside my bra when I won the $125,000 house in a radio station giveaway. Surprisingly, I didn't get any bids on my clover, even with the knowledge that it won me a house AND that it rode around in my bra all day. And the funniest part, thinking back on it, was that it wasn't enough for me to win a house. I wanted to profit on the sale of the clover, too!

But it made me start wondering about other weird things have been listed on ebay and how much the sellers got for their treasures.

Here's a blog post from 2007 that lists several interesting items, including:
9. Item #277481422: UFO Detector
A prototype manufactured by a Brazilian company, that sold for $135.03.

8. Item #248619068: The Meaning of Life
Someone finally figured it out, and they put it up for sale on eBay. Even with eight bids this incredible find didn’t fetch much, but it was probably the best $3.26 the winning bidder ever spent.

6. Item #2961640885: Vampire Killing Kit
This late 1800s European “vampire killing kit,” which included a crossbow with four silver-tipped arrows, an ebony wood stake, a large bottle of holy water and various surgical instruments, among other things. A solid mahogany wood box kept the items secure until they would be needed. Final bid: $4,550.

A more recent post, this one dated March 13, 2008, lists items such as a serial killer's fingernails, a haunted rubber ducky, and a man's soul.

And here's a site that lists not only some weird items , such as a human kidney and the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich, but it also lists some of the most expensive items such as a gulf-stream II business jet which sold for 4.9 million dollars.

It all made me start wondering whether I should list my clover again.

And then I thought no, maybe I better keep it. After all, it won me the house (which I sold and bought the beautiful piece of property we now live on),
which probably didn't hurt in helping me to land the man

(Who wouldn't marry a gal who won a house a few months after he met her?).

So whether it was the clover or fate or just dumb luck, I do know that I have just about everything I have ever wanted in life.

A wonderful man, a beautiful home and our own little woodland full of critters.

This little clover is a perfect reminder of just how LUCKY I really am.

Notes on the end of life

2009-08-13T17:33:00.001-07:00

Author's Note: My mother has Alzheimer's. It's been a rough ten years or so, learning to care for her and love her the way I do now. Since I don't have any kids of my own, I guess it was inevitable that she would become the cliche' of "the child that I never had". For the longest time, we were in a rather pleasant place together, with her Alzheimer's. But she recently took a sudden turn for the worse and it seems apparent that the end may be near. I keep trying to sit down here and write about it and a million thoughts are going through my head. A million essays started and not finished because I'm not quite sure yet how they are going to end. For now, I decided to just repost this old entry from another blog. And share this photo of me and mom on World Peace Day back in the late '80s.

~ My Own Mother Nature ~

Nature has always been a very important part of my life thanks, in part, to the influence of my own mother.

My mother was an artist at heart. She loved to garden, paint and dabble in various forms of arts and crafts.

When we were kids, she would take us to a beautiful little patch of woods (The Mount) where we could walk on shady, leaf covered paths and learn about all of the wonders of nature. Sometimes, she would collect leaves or sticks or shells or other artifacts of nature and display them in her home like beautiful works of art. And she always took the time to marvel at the clouds or a beautiful full moon. Thankfully, thankfully I inherited all of those qualities from her.

Below is a note I recently found in a birthday card that my mother gave me years ago. She sums things up far better than I can. I have also included a poem that she mentioned in the note.*

The front of the card shows a small girl standing in a field, with her arms outstretched to the sky. A flock of geese is flying overhead. The printed message on the card says: "We don't wait till all our years are spent to experience heaven. In sunlight and the breath of wind, in the smile of a baby, in the song of a child, heaven reveals itself to us every day."

Mom wrote: "Enclosing copy of poem I copied in my little spiral notebook ~ probably in 1940 ~
I'm sure I memorized it at the time and I never forgot it - which is why I always knew it was better to let the "work" wait and enjoy the walking through the fall foliage ankle deep on the sidewalk and climbing up The Mount to dawdle in the October sun and I treasure every moment I ever "wasted" that way with you. Love, Mom

Here's the poem she included:
-------------

Last October
By Elaine V. Emans

There never comes a day like this, all gold
And shining like a bubble in the sun,
But I recall the afternoon I told
You I'd no time for play: work must be done!
Work must be done, and there the gold day wasted.
And there the mellowness of earth and sky
And leaf and air went hour by hour untasted
For scruples sown too well in such as I!

And there October's brightness faded, turning
Her dear enchantment into dull November,
And setting in my brain one question burning
Now what can I, now what can I remember
Of work I bent above that day until
It was too late to climb the golden hill!

*Poem was copied from hand-written note. I apologize for any mis-copied words.

------------

My mother instilled a love of nature in me that has helped to create who I am. The love is so strong, that I don't just spend every free moment I can enjoying nature, but I try to do everything I can to get other people to see it the same way so that they will love and protect it, too.

The beauty of life is in the details. My mother taught me that. I hope that I can help encourage you to appreciate the details.

Betsy S. Franz
-----------------------------------------

*You can read one of many articles I have written about my mother in Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Tribute to Moms
© 2009, Betsy S. Franz, All Rights Reserved

How I Learned to Poop in the Woods

2009-08-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

My mind was wandering when I was just taking my nature walk through my yard. I was looking at some poop in my yard (bobcat I think), which made me think of times I was walking in bigger woods, examining animal scat, and that reminded me of the time that I stepped in human poop in the woods and ruined my favorite shoes. I had to throw them away because there wasn't anything near by to clean them with. I still miss those shoes.

Anyway, then I started thinking about how I learned to poop in the woods.

I was 29 years old and I was taking my first camping trip. Well, it was more than a camping trip. It was a three month journey across America to try to find the most beautiful place to live.

It was an incredible experience, which I hope to one-day get down in writing before most of it slips away from my over-crowded mind.

If you have never experienced the joys of really roughing it -- sleeping, eating, bathing and yes, pooping outside, then I urge you to get out there and do it! (or doo it, as the case may be)

Anyway, back to learning how to poop in the woods. Like most humans, I thought that all I had to do was go find a spot and squat. And with my inexperienced outdoor mind, the logical spot to me seemed to be near the water, so that I could clean up afterwards. The outdoorsman that I was travelling with soon set me straight: when you are outdoors, pooping near the water is one of the worst things you can do.

So for any of you that don't know, here are the basics of pooping in the woods:

Head away from water bodies (be kind to the planet), paths (be kind to fellow hikers), and poison ivy (be kind to your own behind)
Dig a hole. It doesn't need to be large enough to fall into. 6" - 8" should do for most doo. If you are going to be in the woods for any length of time, bring a small shovel.
Do your business
Now I have to admit here that I used toilet paper. Most toilet paper is made to degrade, some more quickly than others. Other sources recommend that you carry a resealable plastic bag and pack-out your used paper.
Refill the hole with dirt. Packing loosely helps speed decomposition

So, there you have it. I have to admit that the first time I had to poop in the woods, I was not a happy camper. I'm not sure my travelling companion had even warned me that, when he said we were going to be remote camping, it meant no outhouses. But sometimes, to really see our planet, you have to dig deep into the wild uncharted areas. The great outdoors were calling me.

So I learned to do what I had to doo!

More information about how to poop in the woods can be found here.

How to Make Yourself Happy? Think Happy Thoughts

2009-08-12T05:40:00.000-07:00

I really get a kick out of surveys that prove what is already so obvious.

Professor Richard Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, conducted a mass-participation experiment online, with more than 26,000 people joining to try recognised mood-boosting techniques.

Participants were given several different techniques that they were supposed to practice for a week, to determine which one made people the happiest. The result: participants who were asked to recall a pleasant event from the previous day were given an immediate 15 per cent boost in happiness.

So, to be happy...THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS! As if we needed an experiment to know that.

Bobcat in the backyard

2009-08-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

I was just taking a stroll around our property, in one of those completely blissful moods where I was just enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.

I walked up to our large gardening pergola in the backyard and didn't pay much attention when I heard the sound of something rubbing against the plastic flower pots underneath it. I assumed it was just a squirrel or some other small critters.

What a thrill it was to catch a glimpse of our resident bobcat as he sped off down the path.

He must have been laying there, right in the pergola, and was probably as surprised to see me as I was to see him!

How funny. Getting what I asked for

2009-08-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

Okay. So I'm not famous by any means. I just think its funny how often I "get what I ask for."

Just recently, I mentioned to someone that I wanted to be famous enough to get quoted by someone else.

And here it is: School Supplies Pose Toxic Threat to Students.

An article I wrote for Natural Awakenings got me quoted on emagazine.com

Alison Byrne Fields ~ Writing From Her Heart

2009-08-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Alison Byrne Fields is the second great example I have found while doing my recent soul searching about whether it is better to write for love or write for money. The first was Laura Munson, who I have blogged about too many times already!

I like Alison's story even better. Alison wasn't trying to gain fame or fortune when she posted a message in her blog about a long ago pen-pal relationship that she had with director John Hughes. She wasn't even trying to be discovered.

She wrote about her relationship with Hughes on her blog only as a way of sorting out her emotions. "I did it just for me, but I knew a few friends would see it too," Byrne Field said.

The post, however, brought 350,000 visitors to her blog AND put her in the pages of Time magazine.

All I can say is, WOW! What an incredible reminder to us all that if we follow our hearts, there is no telling WHERE they might lead us.

My conversation with God today

2009-08-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

I've been having this soul-searching inner debate with myself lately about whether I should focus on writing what I want to write or writing for money.

On the one hand, I'm a member of a writers group on LinkedIn and I'm jealous of the comments about people making $100 an hour or $12,000 a month or six figures a year.

On the other hand, I'm completely blown away by the power and intensity of certain essays by writers like Laura Munson and Alison Byrne Fields who are following their hearts and writing what they want to write.

So while I was walking around my beautiful two acre piece of property that I share with my incredibly loving husband I said, "God. Just give me some kind of sign that it's okay to follow my heart instead of the money. A winning lottery ticket, maybe. Just three numbers. That's all I ask."

And God said, "You gotta be freaking kidding me!!!"

Okay. So He didn't really say that.

But I did realize that I already have just about everything I have ever asked for in life, and none of it is anything that I gained by being un-true to myself.

I realized that struggling against myself, just to earn more money will take away from my peace and happiness rather than bring me more.

In fact, maybe what God was telling me (although He really didn't pipe in on my mental monologue) is that sometimes Life pays us in other ways besides money. And I am already very well paid by Life.

"To know when you have enough is to be rich." ~ Lao-Tzu

©2009, Betsy S. Franz

Life is About Creating Yourself

2009-08-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

©2009, Betsy S. Franz

I'm a big collector of quotations.

I was reminded of one yesterday while I was whining about dealing with some of life's unpleasantries.The quotation is: “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” and it is attributed to George Bernard Shaw.

During my whining yesterday, I said that I think it is sad that I have lost so much of my spark because of my mother's Alzheimer's. I was acting like a victim. Like I had no choice in the matter. Somehow, the quote jumped into my mind and reminded me that I do have a choice.

Everyday when we wake up, we have a new choice. A new choice to create the “self” that we want to be. Yes, there are unpleasant things in life, but we always have the choice of how to react to them and how to face them and how to deal with them.

In fact, we have the choice in many cases whether to deal with them at all.

So, I am going to spend some time today reminding myself of the kind of person I want to be. I am going to write down the qualities that I want to have, such as kindness and patience and humor and gratitude. I can guarantee you that whiny and depressed won't be anywhere on my list.

And when I have my list done, I am going to print it out and hang it up here in front of me to remind myself of the “me” I want to be. Sometimes we need a kick in the butt to help remind us of the truths in life.

Every Little Thing We Do Is Magic

2009-08-08T04:52:00.000-07:00

© 2009, Betsy S. Franz

I read a powerful blog post today, that a friend of mine had tweeted on Twitter.

The original post, entitled "Sincerely, John Hughes," is an essay about a young woman's long running correspondence with John Hughes.

It is a great essay. Very well written, but it also contains a powerful message: that every one of us, every day, has the power to touch someone else's life.

The blogger, Alison Byrne Fields, writes of her two year "pen pal" relationship with director John Hughes, which began with a teenager's angst filled fan letter and developed into a close, personal friendship. I'll let you read her post to absorb the depth and breadth of it.

Her essay was in my mind as I took my morning walk around our little two acre forest this morning.

I thought about pen pal relationships I have had over the years, the two deepest of which were with my brother and my father. The letters allowed us to say many things to each other that we just couldn't say in person.

I thought of the large box of letters that my mother had kept from her suitors and friends that she had during the second world war. Letters that I often found her reading as her memories were beginning to slip away to Alzheimer's.

But mostly I thought about the effect that Alison had on John Hughes' life. An effect that I'm sure she had no dream or intention of creating when she wrote that first teen-angst filled fan letter to him.

Her post was a great reminder about the power of our actions...ALL of our actions. Every word or deed that we put out there through snail mail, through email, through Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn or text messages. Every little thing we do has the power to touch people and change people. Every action has magic.

So with my apologies to "The Police", I want to remind you that "Every Little Thing You Do Is Magic"

Can Google Alerts Help Find Killers?

2009-08-06T06:01:00.001-07:00

By now we've all read the story about the guy who kept a web page about years of rejection and his plans to kill himself and others. And it made me think, doesn't the FBI or somebody track the internet for things like that? Can't they just setup a Google Alert for some phrase like "I am going to kill?" Or certainly they have even more advanced techniques for that.

Or can't the people that manage the main blog sites like blogger and wordpress do that?

So just to check things out, I went to google today and did an advanced search on the words "I am going to kill". I got 121,000,000 hits. I changed it to search for the exact phrase "I am going to kill" and came back with 2,310,000 hits.

I changed it to just search for that phrase on blogspot and got 118,000 hits but only 3,860 on wordpress.

Kind of scary, isn't it?

Happiness I have Found Today

2009-08-06T05:33:00.000-07:00

It's 8:34 a.m. Here is the happiness that I have found so far today.

Waking up with my sweet hubby.
Walking around our beautiful yard.
Taking our morning shower.

Earmuff comment from The Barking Unicorn

Essay reminding us that we all can choose to serve happiness.

The Secret Society of Happy People.

Six Steps on the Easy Road to Unlimited Happiness

Study: Happiness is Contagious on Social Networks

More thoughts on Laura Munson

2009-08-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

© 2009, Betsy S. Franz

I have to admit, that the Laura Munson story has become my new, favorite reality show. After reading her very personal essay on the NYT website, she, and her essay, have been running through my mind almost non-stop.

My first reaction to her article was, of course, that she is an excellent, excellent writer and so I tracked down her website to read more. She is receiving a tremendous number of comments from the article. 195 at last check. And reading the comments certainly adds to the little melodrama that she has become to me. Many people are complimenting her on her writing. Others are commenting on the essay itself, which was a very personal topic. Still more, are seemingly grasping for a connection with her.

My own comment to Laura became incredibly long. Her website talks about her desire to have more success in her writing and my main question to her was, "Why?" But her response to me was as eloquent and personal as the rest of her writing. It isn't really the success that she is looking for. She just NEEDS to write. And like most writers, she realizes that writing without an audience is tantamount to standing in a corner talking to oneself.

I'm sure part of my attraction (obsession) is also the intensity of her topic: a husband that said "I don't love you anymore" and how she reacted to it. I read it the same day that I found out that one of my husband's co-workers left his wife of many years for another woman. Of course, that is not the story that he is spreading around, but it is the truth of his leaving.

So I discussed Laura's article with my husband. Opened up that door of conversation that many couples never dare to open. Told him that I always try to do my best to NOT put myself in any position where another man (woman or activity) could become more important to me than he is....than our marriage is. And I asked him to please talk to me if he ever felt that anything else was becoming that important to his life.

"Right," he said. "And how would that conversation go?"

Well, this is how that conversation would go. You would sit down with your spouse and say "You know honey, I met another woman while I was away on business this weekend and we had a great, long, fun talk. And it bothered me. I miss that feeling. So how can we get it back in OUR relationship?"

More thoughts about Laura: She is supposedly back with her husband now and has his "permission" to write a book about the whole thing. ????? I mean, many women who read it will hate him OR want him. But it will launch her career into what she wants. Will he really stick around after that? If he doesn't, will her new fame (reading audience) be enough for her? Is her marriage strong enough now to endure a wife that is in the spotlight, as she obviously is going to be.

I've often wondered if it is really worth the price of airing ones dirty laundry to gain fame and recognition. Is it really okay to expose everything for the sake of launching ones career? I'm not saying that is what Laura is doing. I'm thinking more of all the laundry I have piled up which would make deep, dark, intense essays but would probably cause feelings that I don't really want to stir up.

Plus, the whole Laura Munson thing made me feel very insecure about my own writing ability. She is so powerful! But it didn't make me want to quit writing. It made me want to just try harder.....dig deeper.

I guess the bottom line is this. Laura Munson has struck a match that is lighting lots and lots of fires. Fires of creativity in writers. Sparks of romance in relationships that had grown stale. The intense burning of hearts that were still smoldering from their own lost loves but were rekindled from the reading of her essay.

To me, that is the mark of a great writer. She didn't just put thoughts and words on paper. She dug into our hearts and souls and brains and stirred us up.....lit us up.....made us feel.

Like so many more of her new found readers, I just can't wait for more!!

This, that and the other.

2009-08-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a long day so far. Woke up at 3:45 a.m. to start on the caffeine to drive my hubby to the airport for a 6am flight.

After dropping hubby at airport, came home and napped for an hour.

Sent Merrian Webster an email to tell them they needed to add the word "jonboat" to their Scrabble dictionary. How could "jonboat" not be in the dictionary? That cost me a lot of points the other day at the senior center.

Read some more of Laura Munson's stuff on her website. Looks like she is going to get the fame and recognition that she wants and so deserves.

Sent a thank you email to the editor of Natural Awakenings for letting me write for them.

Sent an email to my sister-in-law updating her on my mom's status. Mom's not doing very well. Is she finally near the end?

Made a flyer for the blogging class that I am going to start teaching. That should be fun.

Drove down to Melbourne Beach to drive my sister to the Dr. to have a melanoma removed from her face. We spent way too much time in the sun when we first moved here.

Saw her remodeled house for the first time. Beachside home was pretty ravaged by a hurricane a few years back. Beautiful now.

Nice couple of hours with my sister, driving her to the dr. and sitting in the waiting room with her. We aren't close, but our time together today was.

Came home and got a call from my hubby. He is already sitting in an airport waiting to come home.

Got reply from Merriam-website. They said that "johnboat" is a word but not "jonboat." Hmmm

Trying to decide now whether to take a nap or just caffeine up. Probably go the caffeine route.

The beauty of life is in the details and there were too many nice details today. Want to write them down before they are gone.

Happiness is finding magic in the everyday

2009-08-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a great article on happiness, written by Beverly Beckham for the Boston Globe.

We were on vacation at Rock Harbor waiting for the sun to set - my grown children and their young children, all of us way out on a jetty, the sky pink, the night clear, the bugs, for the moment, somewhere else.

A steel band was playing, calypso music; not Old Cape Cod, but it was nice, festive.

The little kids didn’t stay still for long, though.

Why sit and watch the sun when there are rocks to be climbed and sand to be raced through? Read rest of article here.

This Message Isn't Really to Laura Munson

2009-08-02T05:54:00.000-07:00

© 2009, Betsy S. Franz

I like to read happy, positive, uplifting articles. To find them, I have Google Alerts setup for words like "bliss" and "happiness". I'm sure that is how I found Laura Munson's incredible essay entitled "Those Aren't Fighting Words, Dear" on the New York Time's website.

The first couple of paragraphs intimated that it wasn't really going to be an uplifting and positive read, but perhaps something else. But since it looked like it was going to be about my greatest fear, the loss of true love, I read it anyway.

Laura's article starts out: LET’S say you have what you believe to be a healthy marriage. You’re still friends and lovers after spending more than half of your lives together. The dreams you set out to achieve in your 20s — gazing into each other’s eyes in candlelit city bistros when you were single and skinny — have for the most part come true.

A few paragraphs down, I see the words that every person in love dreads to hear, Munson writes: "Sure, you have your marital issues, but on the whole you feel so self-satisfied about how things have worked out that you would never, in your wildest nightmares, think you would hear these words from your husband one fine summer day: “I don’t love you anymore. I’m not sure I ever did. I’m moving out. The kids will understand. They’ll want me to be happy.” Read the rest of Laura's essay here.

Well, I read the rest of her essay and it was fantastic. So I went to Laura's website to learn more about her. She is a wonderful writer with an envious life. She lives in a beautiful area of Montana with her loving family. She is well-published, by most writer's personal standards. When she sits down and thinks about it, I bet she probably has everything she ever wanted in life.

But, like most of us, she feels like she wants more. She wants to be discovered.

Laura, this started out as a message to you, but it is really to myself, since I have been thinking so much about life and love and my desire (as a writer) to be discovered. First let me clarify that I don't consider myself anywhere NEAR as talented as you are. I might have created one or two evocative essays in my day, but your talent seems to come quite easy to you.

The question I want to ask you is, "Why"? What do you think that additional fame will bring you that you don't already have? More money? And what will the money bring? Do you just want to validate your talent with the positive feedback of an adoring audience? Or are you just determined to prove what most writers feel: that we should be able to support ourselves with our words? I'm not trying to sound condescending or critical with any of these questions. They are all just questions that I have been struggling with and I thought that maybe you could help me to answer "why?"

I have a wonderful husband and a wonderful home. We aren't billionaires but we are financially comfortable. I like to write. I get published from time to time. But for some reason I spend hours and hours ignoring my husband....ignoring my home....ignoring my surroundings trying and trying to get just a LITTLE more recognition. A LITTLE more fame.

Laura, I think you and I both know that we wouldn't be happy travelling around the country doing book tours. We wouldn't want to lose the privacy that our current lives allow. And, quite frankly, I'm not really sure what I would do with more money, other than try to ensure a long and comfortable existence for myself and my husband. (And that is really in the hands of fate).

I read some of your essays and they have touched my life, so I thank you. And if you want the super book deal and the appearance on Oprah and the rise to the bestseller list, I sincerely hope you get it.

But be careful what you wish for. I can't see how any of that fame could possibly compare with the life that you have now. The mountains. The family. The bears. The small-town country life.

I've been thinking a lot about happiness lately and this is what I decided. For me, personally, "more" is one of the most detrimental words to my personal happiness. For me, I can find bliss with the word "enough".

Why buy the cow.......

2009-07-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

©2009 Betsy S. Franz

Ever since I was young, I've wanted to be a writer. It wasn't that I thought it would ever make me rich. It's just that I've always thought that some of my thoughts are worth sharing.

But once I got into the business, I realized that I often wasn't writing for the reasons that I set out to. Although I've made it a practice to never take writing assignments that went against any of my personal beliefs, I have often struggled with the money and the copyright aspects. Is it more important to be able to write the positive, meaningful things that I want to write? Or is it more important to make money? If I have a positive thought or idea or suggestion that might help other people through life, is it more important to horde it to myself until I find someone willing to buy those thoughts, or is it more important just to share them?

I often compared my works to the old adage "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free." I assumed that giving away my writing for nothing would devalue it.

But today I realized that the point is Udderly MOOOOoooooooot. I need to write just as much as the cow needs to give her milk. My creative cup runneth over.

So I'm going to try to start updating my blog more often and just operate under the assumption that somebody out there is going to read it. Maybe even use the link provided to subscribe to it.

I'd love it if you are an editor or you know an editor that wants to buy some of my work. But even if you don't buy anything from this old cow, I hope that some of my words can help to quench your thirst.

Help save my planet!! Don't flush!

2009-07-29T05:30:00.000-07:00

© 2009 Betsy S. Franz

If you are a writer, someday, it eventually dawns on you that much of what you write is probably read from someone whilst sitting on the toilet. This is particularly true if you write short essays and, dare I say it, blog entries.

Most people that read in the bathroom do not want to start something that will leave them hanging, and certainly no one wants to dawdle in the bathroom to finish a chapter. Short essays are much easier to digest in one sitting and blackberries and other portable electronic devices allow us to take our reading with us.

Modern writing is much more disposable than it used to be. Back when everything appeared in print, once your words hit the printed page, they at least had a chance for some sort of permanence. Making it into a national magazine usually meant that your words would be archived in the files of great libraries, either in hard copy or on microfilm or microfiche. You could scan the issues of A Reader's Guide to Literature and there you were. Your legacy. Words that would remain if not forever, at least for a decade or so.

Newspapers don't seem to have the same shelf life as magazines. Newspapers smell funny if you keep them for too long and most communities allow you to easily recycle them. Plus, they work so well for training puppies, putting under the cat's litter box and lining the bird cage. But magazines can be recycled by donating them to libraries or thrift stores or rolling them up and winding Christmas lights around them or even making them into coasters. All of these things keep your words of wisdom around a little bit longer, perhaps to pass on to the next generation.

But blogs make our words too easy to flush away. They show up one day and perhaps someone will read them. Perhaps they won't. Be they are very quickly pushed down and out by the next blogger.... The next words that appear. And soon they find their way into the great sewer system of the Internet and are lost forever.

So do your favorite writers a favor and recycle their words. Help save their stuff. Hit the share button. Retweet them. Digg them. Stumble them up.

Lunch With God

2009-07-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Received this cute email today so I thought I would share:

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate corn chips in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!

Have lunch with God........bring chips.

Tithe Where You Get Your Spiritual Food

2009-07-27T15:04:00.001-07:00

© 2009. Betsy S. Franz. All rights reserverd.

I recently read a short book entitled The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth, by Richard Paul Evans.

I was happy to learn that, according to Mr. Evans, I already have a millionaire's mentality, since I follow most of the principles that Evans recommends. But then I got to lesson five: Give Back.

Evans says, "Hoarding wealth will make your life small and cold. Giving will expand it." He goes on to say, "And service, through sharing our wealth and our time, is love made visible."

Evans, like many people, states that he tithes 1o percent of his income. He does not, however, mention whether his tithe goes to a church or to some other purpose.

A tithe , according to most dictionaries is: A tenth part of one's annual income contributed voluntarily, especially for the support of the clergy or church.

My personal belief is that you should "tithe where you get your spiritual food."

When I used to attend church, I did give generously to the church, since they helped a lot in my spiritual growth and "nourishment". But I had to stop and think, when I read Evans' book, about whether I still tithe or not.

I decided that I do.

There are a lot of things that nourish my spirit, and I make an effort to give generously to all of them. Nature, my mother, and the public library all provide me with spiritual insight and enlightenment and so I give my time and money to those causes.

Some people might think I am stretching the definition of tithing, but I don't think that I am. What difference does it make whether I am helping to support a church, a person or a place? I tithe to the things that help me to grow and to become a better person. The things that "restoreth my soul".

Evans believes in financial karma: that "we get back when we give". And I agree. We get back WHEN we give, during the act itself, not after -- not as a reward for the giving.

A lot of people are in need of a spiritual re-charge right now. And my advice to you is this: "Tithe where you get your spiritual food." In the giving, you may just be the spiritual food to others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Albert Einstein:
It is every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.
Anne Frank:
No one has ever become poor by giving.

John D. Rockefeller Jr.:
Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.

Maya Angelou:
I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.

Peyton Conway March:
There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.

Thornton Wilder:
Money is like manure; it's not worth a thing unless it's spread around encouraging young things to grow.

Winston Churchill:
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Reaching for Bliss ~ About this Blog

2009-07-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

My writing "career" was born in the late '80's when I wrote motivational and inspirational essays for several local newsletters.

I have always loved reading self-help and inspirational books and I welcomed the opportunity to pass along some of my acquired insights to others.

The feedback was good and I enjoyed knowing that I was making a positive difference in the lives of others. I learned that trying to help others follow their bliss was bringing me bliss, as well. I felt that I had discovered my life purpose.

As my writing career grew, I began taking assignments for subjects that weren't motivational, although I always did my best to plug some positive messages in there among the paragraphs. I settled into the niche of "wildlife writer", which grew to encompass other 'green' topics, because they were popular but still allowed me to feel like I was making a positive difference.

Somehow, though, I wasn't getting the same sense of enjoyment that I originally got from my writing. I was following the money rather than following my heart. Writing had become less of a life's purpose and more of a job. I had become more educational than inspirational. My writing was no longer bringing me any bliss.

This blog is a return to my writing roots. It is a place where I can share the insights that I have learned in life and help you find some of your own insights.

For certainly the greatest insight in life is this: life is short. We must treasure every wonderful moment. And squeeze in just as much bliss as we possibly can.

Starting the day on just the right note

2009-06-15T06:32:00.000-07:00

It was the weekend, and I was still lost in a deep, comfortable sleep when I felt a gentle backward kick from my husband beside me.

“Why are you kicking me,” I mumbled, determined not to wake up any more than I had to. It wasn’t even light out yet.

“Hootie’s outside,” he whispered, still only half awake himself.

“Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo,” I heard faintly. “Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo.”

A huge smile crossed my face and I stumbled out of bed and quietly raised the window. The sounds of nature always help me to start my mornings on just the right note.

Hootie is the name that we have given to a large barred owl that lives on our property. The sound was so faint that morning, I don’t know how my husband had heard it through his last moments of sleep. But he had. And knowing how it always made me feel, he wanted me to hear it too. It wasn’t even daybreak yet and already my husband was pointing out the wonders of nature on our property.

As I lay there that morning, the other sounds began to drift into my thoughts. I heard the beautiful songs of the Carolina wrens and the cardinals and I thought, “The proverbial early birds”. But listening harder, I could hear other chirps and cheeps and twitters and it wasn’t long before they lured me from my bed and out into the yard so that I could watch, and listen, to the day as it began to unfold.

I love the sights and scents of nature but above all else, I think I love the sounds.

Perhaps it is because they are always present, and all I have to do is stop for a moment and take the time to listen. Doing so is the perfect way to start my days. Read More.

© 2009, Betsy S. Franz

Full version of the Essay The Sounds of Nature is available for purchase.

Hummers and skunk apes

2009-06-14T06:39:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I no more believed in the presence of hummingbirds in Brevard County, Florida than I did of the legendary skunk ape…a Bigfoot-like creature that supposedly roams the wild areas of Florida. I’m from Missouri, better known as the show-me state, and since I had never seen hummingbirds in Brevard County, they were just a myth to me.

But after years of gardening to try to attract them (hummingbirds, not skunk apes), we were finally blessed with the presence of these beautiful winged creatures at our home back in 2004. They arrived during the winds from hurricane Frances to feed on a firebush plant that we had planted near the front of our house. We were so excited and enthralled that we immediately went and dug out an old hummingbird feeder, made sugar water nectar, and hung the feeder near out kitchen window. Sure enough, the hummingbird returned rather quickly to feed on the nectar and the plants.

The next day, I was in Walmart stocking up on hummingbird plants and feeders, and we have been rewarded with visits from hummingbirds ever since.

I lived in Florida for 37 years before I was able to entice a hummingbird to my yard by changing some of my gardening practices. It took a hurricane for me to be able to really observe them up close. Since then, I have been able to sit on a bench on my front porch and watch daily as hummingbirds visit my feeders. I have seen what I have only read about before: their territorial actions of chasing other hummers from the feeder and their fights with the bees that also visit the feeders. I have had them hover in front of me and make their tiny chirping sound and I even had one fly right in between my arms as I re-hung a cleaned feeder.

Since we first purchased our property, we began immediately to make an effort to keep our property wildlife friendly. We have purchased plants that are favorites of local wildlife, have provided water and shelter and have eliminated the use of harmful chemicals in our yard. We have done this not only because we love seeing gopher tortoises, rabbits, birds, butterflies, foxes and even a bobcat in our yard. But also because we love the natural beauty of Brevard County, Florida and want to do our part to help preserve it.

If you are a property owner, you have the incredible opportunity to get a birds-eye view of the wonders of nature happening right outside your door.

Please do your part for the environment by learning how to Take Care of Your Share of the Planet.