A Summer Song

"In summer,

the song sings itself."- William Carlos Williams

Joy

"Don't postpone joy until

you have learned all of your lessons.

Joy is your lesson."
- Alan Cohen

Summer Freedom

"Summer is where the girls go barefoot

and their hearts
are just as free as their toes."- Unknown

The Morning is Full of Storm

"The morning is full of storm in the heart of summer

the clouds travel like white handkerchiefs of goodbye.

The wind, travelling,

waving them in its hands.

The numberless heart of the wind beating above our loving silence.

Orchestral and divine,

resounding among the trees

like a language full of wars and songs.

Wind that bears off the dead leaves with a quick raid

and defects the pulsing arrows of the birds.

Winds that toppples her in a wave without spray and

substance without weight, and leaving fires.

Her mass of kisses breaks and sinks,

assailed in the door of the summer's wind."

-Pablo Neruda

Sunbeams

"A single sunbeam is enough to drive away

many shadows."- St. Francis of Assisi

Be Interested

Everyone wants to be interesting but the vitalizing thing is

to be interested.

Keep a sense of curiosity.

Discover new things.

Care.

Risk failure.

Reach out.-John Gardner

Experiencing the Whole of Life

"The more one does

and sees

and feels,
the more one is able to do,
and the more genuine
may be one's appreciation
of fundamental things
like home,

and love,
and

understanding companionship."
— Amelia Earhart, first American female aviator

Temporary Experiences

WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS
GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS
GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY
HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

Summer's Charm

"Ah, summer,

what power you have

to make us suffer

and like it."- Russell Baker

Rest

"Take rest;
a field that has rested
gives a bountiful crop."
Ovid

Silence is Golden

"It's better to keep your mouth shut
and appear stupid, than to open it and
remove all doubt." -Mark Twain

Winnie the Pooh

"What I like doing best is Nothing."

"How do you do Nothing?" asked Pooh,
after he had wondered for a long time.
"Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going off to do it,

What are you going to do, Christopher Robin,

and you say, Oh nothing, and then you go about to do it."

"Oh, I see," said Pooh."This is a nothing sort of thing that we're doing now."
"Oh, I see," said Pooh again."It means we're just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."
A. A. Milne

Note to Self

"When you're going through a rough patch, it's only natural to think about the struggle you're having, while overlooking things in your life to be grateful for.
But if you want a bright future, it's essential that you think about bright things - and nothing could be brighter than gratitude.

You and I create our own futures by the things we think about and appreciate:

If you want more love in your life, be grateful for the love you already have.
If you want more money, appreciate the money you have now.
If you want better health, love and appreciate your body.
If you want more friends, take really good care of the friends you have now.
If you want success, be grateful for your past and present successes.
Create your own future through the amazing power of gratitude!

Summer's Smile

"Oh, the summer night

Has a smile of light

And she sits on a sapphire throne."- Barry Cornwall

Joy is Everywhere

"And Joy is Everywhere;

It is in the Earth's green covering of grass;

In the blue serenity of the Sky;

In the reckless exuberance of Spring;

In the severe abstinence of gray Winter;

In the Living flesh that animates our bodily frame;

In the perfect poise of the Human figure, noble and upright;

In Living;

In the exercise of all our powers;

In the acquisition of Knowledge;

in fighting evils...

Joy is there Everywhere"
-Rabindranath Tagore

A Brilliant Idea

That the birds of worry and care fly over your head,
this you cannot change,

but that they build nests in your hair,
this you can prevent. -Chinese Proverb

Love Is The Heart of Summer

"Love is to the heart

what the summer is to the farmer's year--

it brings to harvest

all the loveliest flowers

of the soul."- Unknown

No Barriers

"Love recognizes no barriers.
It jumps hurdles,
leaps fences,
penetrates walls to arrive at its
destination, full of hope."
-Maya Angelou

A Fine Romance

To love oneself

is the beginning

of a lifelong romance.
-Oscar Wilde

A Year Without Summer

"A life without love is like

a year without summer."

Swedish Proverb

You Must Try

"You may be disappointed if you fail,
but you are doomed if you don't try."
— Beverly Sills, former American opera soprano

Impermanence

"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world—

not even our troubles."
Charlie Chaplin

Do Not Give Your Consent

"No one can make you feel inferior

without your consent."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

1884-1962

Effectiveness in the World

"To me success means effectiveness in the world,

that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world--

that I am able to change it in positive ways." — Maxine Hong Kingston, author of "Woman Warrior"

The Hope of Summer

“All we need is the truth in our hand.

Someone to call a friend.

Never fear the darkness.

All we need is just the sun in the sky.

And the hope of a summer to come

with the meaning of love.”- Unknown

Magical Summer

"Then followed that beautiful season...summer...
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape
Lay as if new
created in all the freshness of childhood."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Not A Waste Of Time

"Rest is not idleness,

and to lie sometimes on the grass

on a summer day

listening to the murmur

of water

or

watching the clouds float across the sky,

is hardly a waste of time."- John Lubbock

People In Our Lives

Photo of Audrey Hepburn by Mark Shaw

"People,

even more than things,

have to be

restored,

renewed,

revived,

reclaimed,

and redeemed;

never throw out anyone." — Audrey Hepburn, actress and philanthopist

It's Possible

“Impossible situations can become

possible miracles.”
—Robert H. Schuller

Seeking Another Travel Adventure

Zurich

32 years ago, before we were married, Mike and I travelled together on a European adventure. We took trains and visited many countries. We biked in Holland, took pictures of each other in front of every major monument across the continent, ate our first rijstaffel in Amsterdam, walked ourselves silly in Rome, got very drunk with friends in Denmark and in general had a grand adventure.

A significant event happened on a long train ride from Zurich to Paris. We were seated across from a pretty, young woman. Our seats faced each other and eventually we all began talking, sharing thoughts and lots of laughter. She was Finnish and her name was Arja.* (pronounced Aria)She was living in Zurich but at that time her husband, Paul was studying in Paris. She was meeting him there. When we finally arrived in Paris her husband greeted her, she introduced him to us and they asked us to join them for a drink at a cafe. Little did we know that day would be the beginning of a life long friendship. One of the gifts of travel is chance encounters like this one which provide opportunities to meet people you would likely not meet otherwise.

Today we leave on another travel adventure. After 32 years we are finally making our way back to Zurich to visit Paul and Arja. Although we have managed to meet up with them at various times throughout the years it was never in their homeland. This will be a very special time for us all to share together. I can hardly wait!


Arja, Barb, Mike, Paul Fall 2009 Santa Monica California

After Switzerland we will be flying to Italy to continue our adventures...




Guess who'll be waiting for us to arrive?

Aria Summer 2010

Well, it will be our daughter Aria and guess who she was named after? (Though spelled a little differently from the Finnish spelling she was named after Arja* our friend from Switzerland.)

I will not be blogging while travelling but will continue to post here with pre-set selections. See you all when I get back.

"Adventure is worthwhile" -Aristotle

Random Acts Of Kindness

"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you."

— Princess Diana of Wales