Yearly Archives: 2015

Farewell 2015 and Hello 2016

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“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
whispering ‘it will be happier’…”   – Alfred Lord Tennyson

Dearest Readers,

Thank you so much for reading, following and liking my blogs!   Many blessings for 2016 and may tonight’s New Year’s Eve celebration be filled with laughter, good food, plenty of bubbly libation, and the company of those you hold dear!

And, as always, a very special shout-out to my family and friends across the globe.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the first of my annual seven New Year’s Revelations (not to be confused with resolutions!).  And a new chapter begins ….

Cheers!

heatherfromthegrove

 

(Photo via Pixabay.com)

2015 Tribute

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2015

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The Season of Giving

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“For it is in giving that we receive.” 
― Francis of Assisi

As we count our blessings this holiday season, please remember that there are millions and millions of people – around the world – who are hungry, homeless, displaced, discouraged and lonely.

In this, the season of giving, please do what you can to help a neighbor, a stranger, a family in your community.

Donate food, clothing, blankets and toys to your local missions.  Help out at your local food bank. Share your Christmas feast with someone less fortunate.

If you dine in restaurants, give your leftovers (that you would normally take home) to the homeless man or woman huddled on the sidewalk. Don’t pass them by, averting your face.  Show them compassion.

Spread a little Hope and Kindness.

After all, this is the season of Light… is it not?

May the true meaning of the holiday season fill your hearts and homes with many blessings.  Remember to take time to slow down and enjoy the simple things. I wish you, dear readers, much happiness today and throughout the New Year.

Blessings and Warmest Wishes,

heatherfromthegrove

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
– Charles Dickens

A Thanksgiving Prayer: Remember the hungry, the jobless, the homeless and the suffering

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A Thanksgiving Prayer

O God, when I have food,
 help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen.

– Samuel F. Pugh

Images of praying hands and Thanksgiving dinner via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Saying Goodbye to an Old, Beloved Friend

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BACCHUS

2001 – 2015

R.I.P.

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Walk with an Old Dog

(Poem written by Gayl Jokiel)

Because you will not be forever,

Hope against time I may,

I paint your picture in my memory

Eyes blue with age, muzzle gone grey.

 

Because you walked with me in springtime,

Puppy-clumsy, running free.

As you grew older we grew together.

You became part of me.

 

Because you shared with me my sorrows,

Not understanding, simply there.

Often spurring me to laughter,

My friend, you know how much I care.

 

Because the years have slowed your fleetness,

Though your spirit is still strong.

I promise I will take more time now,

So that you can go along.

 

Because you do not fear the future,

Living on in the now,

I draw strength from your example,

Yet time keeps slipping by somehow.

 

Because the day will soon be coming

When I will no longer see,

You rise to greet me, but in my memory,

You will always walk with me.

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Photo of Bacchus Copyrighted © 2015 by Heather Joan Marinos.  All Rights Reserved.

Climate Change Is Real

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hands-65342_640“When the rivers are all dried up, and the trees cut down, man will then realize that he will not be able to eat…money.”

Climate Change is Real. There are self-serving politicians who will argue to the contrary, but the fact is that our planet will shrivel up and die, if we (each of us) don’t step up to do our part in preserving and saving the environment.

Rapper and activist Prince Ea made an inspiring Earth Day video that has since gone viral. Have a look and then scroll down further for some book recommendations and websites to note.

Dear Future Generations: Sorry…

Some interesting books on the subject of climate change:

This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs. The Climate,  by Naomi Klein

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Climate Change: What it Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren,  by Joseph F. DiMento, Pamela Doughman

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Some websites to note:

“Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth… these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.”  – Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations

Freedom and Individualism Revisted

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I’m re-posting this blog in honour of my brother.

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I am reposting this blog because it seems to have struck a chord with people from across the globe − with thousands of views.

In the first sentence (below), I mentioned that three uniquely brilliant people came into my life in the mid-1970s.  What I did not say then was how they came into my life.  Many of us have someone in our lives who we look up to and who holds an extra special place in our hearts.  A mentor,  a teacher, or  a family member. In my case, it was all three rolled into one — my brother.  Six years my senior, he took me under his wing many, many times.  He introduced me to jazz music, specifically Thelonious Monk and I still have the tapes he gave me (back in the day when we listened to tape cassettes!) well over three decades ago.  Then he gave me two book recommendations for my “must read” list:  The…

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