The Importance Of Each Color

Once upon a time the Colors of the world started to quarrel that they were: all claimed the best, the most important, the most useful, the favorite.

GREEN said: "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees, leaves - without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."

BLUE interrupted: "You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing."

YELLOW chuckled: "You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun."

ORANGE started next to blow her trumpet: "I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and pawpaws. I don't hang around all the time,but when I fill sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you."

RED could stand it no longer. He shouted out: "I am the ruler of all of you- I am blood - life's blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy."

PURPLE rose up to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: "I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me - they listen and obey."

Finally, INDIGO spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: "Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace."

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening - thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak: "You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me." Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. The rain continued: "From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow." And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.

~Author Unknown

Cheers!

Patricia

The Power Of Words

A Motivational Story with Wisdom

The Power of Words

by Author Unkown

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.
The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.
When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
This story gives us thoughts to think about: 1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal. 2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects. Be careful of what you say.
The quote below was sent to me by Master Mark Russell. His quote describes "words" very accurately: "Words: The Snow may look smooth and soft, but the rocks underneath are sharp!"
One last point, Are your words encouraging?

Cheers

Patricia

The Squirrel

A squirrel leaping from bough to bough, and making the wood but one wide tree for his pleasure, fills the eye not less than a lion,—is beautiful, self-sufficing, and stands then and there for nature.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

True Friends

A girl asked a guy if he thought she was pretty, He said...no. She asked him if he would want to be with her forever.... and he said no. She then asked him if she were to leave would he cry, and once again he replied with a no. She had heard enough. As she walked away, tears streaming down her face the boy grabbed her arm and said.... You're not pretty you're beautiful. I don't want to be with you forever. I NEED to be with you forever. And I wouldn't cry if you walked away... I'd die... I like you because of who you are to me.... A true friend. Remember: A good friend will not come bail you out of jail.... But a true friend will be sitting next to you saying ... WE screwed up! I've learned....That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. I've learned....That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for. I've learned....That money doesn't buy class. I've learned....That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular. I've learned...That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved. I've learned....That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can? I've learned....That to ignore the facts does not change the facts. I've learned....That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you. I've learned...That love, not time, heals all wounds. I've learned...That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am. I've learned....That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile. I've learned....That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks. I've learned...That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them. I've learned....That life is tough, but I'm tougher. I've learned...That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss. I've learned....That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere. I've learned...That I wish I could have told those I cared about that I love them one more time before they passed away. I've learned....That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them. I've learned....That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. I've learned....That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it. I've learned....That when your newly born child holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life. I've learned....That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness, and growth happen while you're climbing it. I've learned....That the less time I have to work, the more things I get done.

Cheers!

Patricia

Randy Pauch: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

A few nights ago my husband and I had an extraordinary opportunity to view a lecture by Professor Randy Pauch from America on the television here in New Zealand. It was a lecture that we will never forget, and I so wanted to share this lecture on my Inspirational Blog for all my readers.

While you take the time to view this YouTube Lecture I will be off to paint my Beading Studio with my own artistic renditions of Space Shuttles, the planets and super novas. You will know why after the lecture.

Enjoy!

Patricia

The Obstacle In Our Path

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.

America's Independence Day

The Arbitrary, Yet Symbolic, Nature of the Fourth of July©

Isaac M. McPhee
Mar 12, 2008

American's have celebrated the signing of the Declaration of Independence ever since it was first signed in 1776 - but why exactly was this day chosen above the others?
The Fourth of July.

It is a date thoroughly engrained on the consciousness of all Americans; synonymous with all of the freedoms and liberties which Americans hold dear. Even if nothing else is retained through the years of public education, at the very least this one fact will be always remembered: America first gained its independence from England with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776 – the very first Independence Day.
It is one of those “sure things.”
The Real Independence Day?
Students of history should be sufficiently prepared to accept that most things are never quite so black and white.
Independence Day is the holiday which is intended to celebrate the signing of The Declaration of Independence, that document which dramatically spells out the grievances of the colonists against King George and the English Parliament and which demands American sovereignty, even if it means the shedding of blood.
It is a striking document to say the least, and certainly opened up the American colonies to quite a bit of British aggression.
But should it really be celebrated on July 4th?
The timeline that most people are not fully aware of goes like this:
The Declaration of Independence was completed by Thomas Jefferson (with a great deal of help from his lifelong friend and later political adversary John Adams, as well as Benjamin Franklin) by July 2nd, at which point the continental congress voted unanimously to disunite the colonies from Great Britain and form an independent state.
From here, the next two days were spent by the congress reworking the Declaration, perfecting it for public consumption (all of this was so far done in secrecy). Finally, the document was accepted by the congress on July 4th, and signed by the congress' president, John Hancock (in that most famous of all signatures; large, bold and proud, practically begging the British to try to take back their colonies; and, coincidentally, where the term “put your John Hancock right on this line” comes from).
The rest of the members of congress didn't actually sign the document until August 2nd, while some waited even longer than that.
What Does This Mean?So when, exactly, should American independence be celebrated?
Should it be the day when America first officially declared her Independence? Then it should be July 2nd.
Should it be the day that the final declaration was accepted? Then it should remain as it is, on July 4th.
Should it be the day Americans first celebrated their independence? Then it should be on July 8, for on that day in 1776 the Declaration was first publically read, and throughout Philadelphia there was great celebration.
Should it be the day that the delegates all finally got together to sign the document, thereby making it official? Then it should surely be August 4th.
Or should Independence be celebrated on the day independence was actually won; the day the war for American Independence ended with the Treaty of Paris, on September 3rd, 1783?
The SolutionWhat should be done in response to these very valid questions?
Nothing, of course. After all, it doesn’t matter in the least what day something is celebrated (just look at Christmas as an example) – what matters is what it represents. Independence Day represents the American colonists throwing off the yoke of English oppression and was symbolic of a young nation finally deciding that she was able to stand on her own.
July 4th is as good a day as any. At least, so thought the United States Congress of 1870, which named the day an unpaid federal holiday, as well as the congress of 1941, which bumped the day up a notch to become a paid federal holiday.

That should be good enough for any American.

Cheers And Happy Fourth Of July

From Patricia

I'm Inspired....And I'm Back!

Well I'm back blogging after a very long hiatus due to some health issues, and more recently busy with my jewelery business. I hope to be able to stay more current so that I can provide all of you that read my Blog all kinds of interesting goodies and items worth noting. Yes, all these months away from blogging has been a bit disheartening but hopefully things will pick up. I thank all of those who have still been reading my blog during my absence and look forward to having you all back again.
A very special Happy Fourth of July to all of my American Family and Friends and Readers. Actually the 4th happens also to be my Wedding Anniversary. This year on the 4th my husband and I will be married ten years. So hard to believe that I moved here to New Zealand from New York just ten years ago to marry my Kiwi fiancé It seems like just yesterday quite frankly.
I have been pretty busy just lately setting up my new web site for my jewelry business:


Irresistibly Ewe
At
Patricia's Beaded Treasures


I would love for you to stop by for a visit, although I do not have any jewelry uploaded as yet but hope to be ready to go within the next week or two weeks. All of my jewelry is hand-crafted personally. I will be offering beaded jewelry, beaded charms fobs, and beaded bookmarks. There will also be links for other items for offer such as Home Decor, Vintage Treasures, and Shabby-Chic. You may also have interest in auctions, and they will be available via my boutique as well. I will post to my blog to let you know when I am up and running, but feel free to have a peek at my web site itself.
Well...good to be back all.....and as always I welcome your feedback at any time. Have a good look around as there are lots of things to see and make you think on my all my blogs.


Cheers From Patricia