I can't write better than this.

"Tell me the weight of a snowflake," a hawk asked a wild dove.

"Nothing more than nothing," was the answer.

"In that case, I must tell you a marvelous story," said the hawk.

"I sat on the branch of a fir. Close to its trunk it began to snow...not heavily, not a raging blizzard, no, just like in a dream, without any violence. Since I had nothing better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952 when the next snowflake dropped onto the branch. 'Nothing more than nothing', as you say, and the branch broke off." 

Having said that, the hawk flew away.

The dove, since Noah's time, an authority on peace, thought about the story for a while and finally said with resolve, "Perhaps only one person's voice is lacking for peace to come about in the world."

Somehow this reminds me of my blogger/friends who champion the causes they believe will benefit the people.  I salute them and respect them for all they do.

It's a pity that the author is unknown.  If anybody knows, please tell me.

Of Facebook, Farmville and Friends

Recently, there was a rumour that Facebook was going to end on March 15.  Many thought it was real.  While some heralded it as the best news ever, others moaned and groaned.  Just as quickly as the news spread, it was quashed.

FACEBOOK

I know that many see Facebook as something evil, which eats away at proper socialising and swallows up the precious minutes from the 24 hours that we all get.  I see it as a great platform with which we can keep in touch with people, albeit in a virtual world.  Before Facebook, I lost touch with my family members.  The only time I met up with them was at a wedding or funeral.  On Facebook, I can see what each one is doing, where they are going, what they are up to and more.  I can "poke" them, comment on their status, send flowers or hugs, share pictures and the list goes on.  I've found relatives that I never knew I had before.  There's something to be said about being connected but having control over the distance.  The choice of being active or passive is in one's hands.

FARMVILLE

I play two games on Facebook.  One is Scrabble and the other is Farmville.  Yes, Farmville is a love it or hate it application.  I didn't know it would be so interesting until  I helped my son with his farm.  Then Stephen created one for me.  With that, I was hooked.  For the younger generation, I'd recommend it, instead of those games where you shoot and kill to gain points.  In Farmville, I notice that everyone helps each other happily and willingly.  I don't know of any other game where your competitors are so kind and helpful.  This refreshes my faith in humanity.  Again, for the younger generation, you will hone your skills for time management and business sense.  You have to plan and organise your farm for optimum performance.  In addition to all these advantages, you'll make friends with people who have the qualities that really count in life.

OLD FRIENDS

The friends that I had long forgotten and almost given up on of ever finding again have reappeared in my life.  The girls that I studied with and who were an integral part of my growing years are now back. Playing catch up with them is really wonderful.  

Then there are the students who are now married and who have kids of their own, I feel like a grandmother already.  When I am sad, I only have to say so on Facebook and I am immediately comforted by words or virtual gifts.  Who needs real stuff when the spirit in which the virtual gift is given is what makes it so valuable and counts so much.

NEW FRIENDS

Then there are the new friends.  They say "Make new friends, think of the old.  New is silver and old is gold". It's not true.  I have some new friends who I would classify as "gold".  Without Facebook, I wouldn't have had the possibility of ever knowing them.

So yeah, I love Facebook, Farmville and my friends.  

Life is so good and I am content. 

Of seeing "love"

People say that we can't see love.

People say that you can only feel love.

I say that sometimes we can!

We can see it in a clumsily wrapped gift!

which, when opened, will reveal a lantern with beautifully

hand-painted sunflowers!

You can also see love on a wood board with delicate roses!

Even better is when you see love in the little strokes, cleverly done by the artist, on this cute jam jar.  

But best of all is that the jam jar, lovingly painted has been lovingly filled, with home-made blackcurrant jam!

Thank you, Pat, for a lovely dinner 

and all the lovingly hand-painted gifts.   Muah!

Of being a friend

Recently, a string of emails made me think about what it means to be a friend. Not just a Facebook friend, but also a friend as defined by dictionaries as “a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard”.

The dictionaries also describe a friend as (1) a person who gives assistance, (2) a person who is on good terms with another and (3) a person who is not hostile.

A friend is not only someone who gives assistance. Anybody who is not a friend can also do that.

A friend is not a person who is on good terms with you. It is much more than that.

A friend is a person who is not hostile. Not true. A friend can sometimes be argumentative.

I suppose it would really be a stretch of the imagination to think that a friend could be defined so easily.

In one email reply, I wrote, “a friend, who could stand me, would stand by me”. This really is true. We are not perfect beings. We hide behind different masks with our insecurities and our vulnerabilities. The one who can see beyond all that, and still accept us for who we are, is a friend.

I have many friends. In every aspect of my life, I’ve been blessed with good friends. Not just fair-weather friends but friends who have shown their love for me much more than I sometimes think I deserve.

From experience, I know that it isn’t the length of time, the quantity of moments when meeting up or the quality of each happy greeting.

A person become your friend when you dare to show your true self, warts, and all.

As I think of the people in my life, the ones who are my friends, I realise how wealthy I am.

(pics from photobucket)

A portrait of me!

When I began blogging, I had a tough time because I wasn't sure about the "rules" that encapsulate the virtual world.   It seemed that everyone had his or her own style and theme. Many had tons of "followers" and I was just a tiny drop in the ocean.  It appeared to be a daunting task to plod on without direction.  

Yet along the way, I found that other bloggers were genuinely kind and helpful.  It seemed so unlikely but it was easy to get help and direction from people I didn't know at all.  All I had to do when in doubt was to ask and the advice came so quickly and willingly.  Tip my hat here to Antares and Masterwordsmith for their generosity.

Anyway, one the pleasures I derived, from other blogs, was finding little treasures that made me smile.

The one that stood out is "de minimis" with his piece on Obama and JFK: Inaugural address.  In that blog, I found an excellent portrait of Obama done by Dan Lacey. Something about it struck a chord in me.  I found out later that the JFK portrait done by Aaron Shikler inspired him.

 

Prompted by curiosity, I visited the site of Dan Lacey.  He's an unusual painter of pancakes.  I saw beyond his pancakes.  I loved his style and, on impulse, I wrote him to ask if he could do a painting from a picture I had.  He agreed.  Although it took a long time for him to get it done, due to being in high demand, the wait was worth it.

He transformed a simple picture of me into a work of art.  I'd like to share it with you!

I've had loads of wonderful responses to this on Facebook and via email.  The one that makes me smile the most is from my friend of "The English Cottage".  I could hear her voice as she wrote, 

"I think he's captured you quite brilliantly!

You look a trifle saucy - just look at the hair - big and healthy and so full of life! It says sexy and sultry, and yet, the gentle curls barely touching at both sides of your neck - suggesting where you've just been kissed (by the hair lah, but also . . . .) And the locket, modestly placed high on the chest, but the neckline ... ahhhh, open, and fading out of site. Very suggestive!

I lovely forehead, not messed about with hair - so much in the forefront, and therefore showing that you're a thinker, and an intelligent woman, not just a beauty with no brains, k!

The smile is how I always think of you.

But best of all - the eyes: Smiling, and beautiful and bright. And looking far away into the distance - seeing a happy future, planning something? Seeing the years ahead, and knowing they will be good - no matter the curve balls, all will be fine in the end.

How did you like that? That's the kinda thing mad people who do literature and language do! Also people who look at paintings and try to see what the artist saw, and try to decipher the subject through the way she was painted. Why did he emphasize this, why was this so subtle? So many things to see and so many answers to discover!

Of course, I am just a fraud, because I already know you so well.

But seriously, I think he captured you very well. He found the essence that is you - not just the lovely face that we all can see; but also the lovely soul shining inside."

The icing on the cake is when Stephen says he loves the painting and has put it as his laptop wallpaper.  He even suggested we frame it and display it in our living room.

So have you had your portrait painted?  :-)