Staying Hopeful + Almost Here + Magic Trick

Good Morning from Warren Grove, Prince Edward Island.

Thank you for being here with me this morning; I appreciate you. 

I headed into the woods this morning before sitting down to write and the silence was beautifully complimented by the song birds.

Now, I am ready for a cuppa and chat. 

I have to be honest I feel so much sadness for the families and the children affected by this week's tragic events in Texas that I find it hard to concentrate and write. 

Of course, I feel many other things as well, but I had promised this blog was not to be a pulpit for politics, and it won’t be. 

But there can be no reasonable defence as to why 288 school shootings in the United States since 2009 are 57 times as many as the other six G7 countries combined.

The trauma of these tragedies affects families, the local community, and the country, affecting the global community. 

“Energy moves in waves. Waves move in patterns. Patterns move in rhythms. A human being is just that, energy, waves, patterns, rhythms. Nothing more. Nothing less. A dance.” ~ Gabrielle Roth 

I am optimistic that things will change, but as Martin Luther King said, "darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." 

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, and kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvellous victory.” —Howard Zinn.

Looking for some good news this morning, I thank Kevin Yarr of CBC PEI for sharing this story about grade seven student Emerson Hammill.

“I’m starting to think this world is just a place for us to learn that we need each other more than we want to admit.” – Richelle E. Goodrich.

In Kevin’s words….”Tuba players don't often get much time in the spotlight.

Instead, they will sit near the back of the stage, not usually attracting a lot of attention, adding bass depth to the melody or helping to keep the rhythm, passing the glamour roles to violins or trumpets.

Emerson Hammill is an exception to that rule.

At the MusicFest Canada earlier this month, the tubist earned the Slaight Music Outstanding Performer Award after being selected to play in the Canadian Junior Honour Band with about 100 other student players from across the country.”

Congratulations to Emerson, her parents for their support and to her teacher, Kirsten MacLaine, for guiding and encouraging her. 

“Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan.

Freedom Day for the cows and the Keepers. 

Summer is coming. I am looking forward to spending as much time in and on the ocean. 

We have been to the beach a few times this year to sit, relax and read. And I am looking forward to the first dunk. Last year, Shirley and I swam together on June 7, our wedding anniversary. 

If we had wanted to swim together in the late 1700s, this would have been the only way we could have done it. 

“Picture that moment when you finally get to the beach after a long winter, excitedly peel off your clothes, run madly towards the water and crash into the salty waves without a care in the world … this is not that. If you were a beachgoer in Georgian or Victorian times, more specifically, a female beachgoer, your day at the seaside would’ve likely had all the fun sucked out of it by a little invention known as the bathing machine.”

Take a “peek” at the Victorian Prudes and their Bizarre Beachside Bathing Machines. 

Does anyone want to sing and dance together and shake it all off! 

Lyrics included! 

I am everyday people

Have a wonderful weekend! 

 My blog, “A Bunch of Good Things,” newsletter goes out Sunday nights. If you have signed up already, thank you. If you have not, you can sign up here. 

With love from Prince Edward Island, 

Bruce + MIllie

ps. Your Morning Smile