Theme Thursday-Traffic

Experience is by far the best teacher. You know, ever since I was a little girl I knew that if you look both ways when you cross the street, you'll see a lot more than traffic.” Mae West

Mae had it right. There's traffic where ever we look on this ever smaller globe of ours. It is how we choose to deal with it that makes the difference. I choose to imagine the images above when I am caught in midtown NY ---horns blaring and taxis moving ever so close to my bumper.

So much time is spent getting somewhere, what if we just took the time to be, to learn and look beyond the car in front of us---lead rather than follow, take the exit we pass every day just because, take a train so we can read another chapter of that book, ride a bike, motorcycle or a vespa. It is about living and experiencing. Mae had it right. I will try to do better.

Theme Thursday-Climate Change

To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.” --Rachel Carson

Water has the power to give and take life. Global warming is changing weather patterns throughout the world so that dust storms in June Saville's Australia are becoming commonplace. My love of the southwest comes with an understanding that the quest for water has been going on for centuries. The dams, while insuring the availability of water, have changed the environment, destroyed tribal burial grounds and ruins and caused the extinction of many types of wildlife. The droughts of the last decade have allowed a beetle to take root in many of the trees located throughout Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado causing them to become even more susceptible to fire and certain death.

I treasure my walks. It keeps me focused and close to what is real. The more people are allowed to experience nature, the more they will stand up and fight for it. Therefore, I talk and write about my hikes to whoever will listen! I contribute to causes that protect our National Park System, keep green spaces green  and protect our wildlife. Conserving resources, like water and energy, do make a difference. I drive less, carry my water to work in a reusable Sigg bottle, unplug and turn-off as much as I can whenever I leave my home and office.

Margaret Mead said it best, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Time

No one day is like another,
each tomorow has its special miracle,
its magic moment in which old universes
are destroyed and new stars created.

BY THE RIVER I SAT DOWN AND WEPT-Paulo Coelho

Been traveling on business --Chicago and Boston are amazing cities. While I didn't have time to sightsee, I did have time to think, exchange ideas and meet new people. I feel something new brewing- strength. The tumblers are all starting to 'click' into place. I am starting to see a new path and  possibilities. Very cool.