Friday's Flowers

My husband just sent me this lovely story and I thought our readers would enjoy it. I've included some of the pictures we took at the Dallas Arboretum recently--if you are in the area don't miss Dallas Blooms!



Happy Easter from MyDailyInsights
MY FRIDAY STORY

The Daffodil Principle ~Anonymous~

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.





It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.



On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by on woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.




That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world ...

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"




My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use th Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....

Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die...
There is no better time than right now to be happy.




Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt, and, dance like no one's watching.

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

Sent to you as a courtesy of...Your friends at AsAManThinketh.net
http://www.asamanthinketh.net/

Lifelong Learning Thursday

Nancy Merz Nordstrom, author of Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret of Making the Most of Your After 50 Years will share the benefits of Lifelong Learning on Thursdays.

LEARNING LATER, LIVING GREATER:

The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years.

…a Health Club for Your Mind. Body and Spirit!

Follow your bliss! At age 63, I never thought I’d be living these famous words by Joseph Campbell. But when I realize I’m doing the work I love on my own terms, sharing my life with a wonderful man, and being surrounded by loving family - well, to me that’s bliss!

As a first-time author, I guess you could say my whole life, and certainly the last 15 years in particular, have set the stage for this bliss. It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure. There were times when I wondered what I was doing, but I kept going. Persistence does indeed pay.

In order to look at the concept, benefits and opportunities of Learning Later, Living Greater, however, we need to take a short trip down memory lane since my story demonstrates where a journey of learning later and living greater can lead.

I married my high school sweetheart and by the time we were both in our early thirties, our family was complete (one son and three daughters). Over the next 15 years we raised our children in Boston, and made plans for the future.

How does that old maxim go? Life is what happens when you’re making other plans, or something like that. Well, our plans for the future came to an abrupt halt early on a warm August morning in 1993, when I found my 48 year-old husband dead of a heart attack.

The shock and grief kept me in a kind of fog for the next several years. I tried all the usual routes for coming to terms with his death – grief therapy, life counseling, immersing myself in my work as an administrative assistant. Nothing, however, seemed to help put the pieces of my life back together, or really help me wrestle with the idea of no longer being a wife, part of a twosome. As someone who was raised to believe a woman’s primary role in life was being a wife and mother, the loss of my identity as a wife was a very difficult adjustment.

Slowly, however, the fog began to lift, which is what the passage of time can do if you give yourself half a chance. As I struggled for a way out of my grief I slowly gravitated toward the support of other women, a very new thing for me. I began attending workshops, support groups, conferences and getaways, all run by and for women.

I fully expected this would be my life from now on, and I threw myself completely into this wonderfully creative and supportive environment. The work I’ve done over the years with women’s groups has been a powerful cathartic for me.

Then, early in 1996 I found myself thinking about travel. What I had noticed, much to my chagrin, was that ads for travel and vacations all placed heavy emphasis on “couple-hood.” It was very off-putting, to say the least, especially for someone who was still trying to come to terms with her new status as a single woman.

One day, however, I came across an ad in a women’s newspaper for educational travel programs – programs where single women could feel safe and included. It sounded very interesting, and I sent for literature.

http://www.elderhostel.org/

I spent hours pouring over all the program offerings and finally decided on a trip to the Austrian and Italian Alps. Why? I think because I loved the story of Heidi as a child. And, this particular program did not have a “single supplement,” that unfair charge assessed to single travelers.

Now I had never traveled alone anywhere, much less outside the U.S. I didn’t even own a passport! So this decision was, for me, a very big step outside my comfort zone. Little did I know at the time where taking that one step would lead. Today, I look back and can easily see that it was the start of my new life. More next week…

THURSDAY’S THOUGHT…

Educational Travel programs… where the world, as Elderhostel says, really is your classroom. What a wonderful vehicle for our continued exploration of ourselves and all we have to offer to society. Such programs help us understand and appreciate different cultures. They also change us by broadening our perspectives and teaching us about new ways to measure our quality of life.

To learn about Elderhostel’s 8,000+ U.S. & International programs visit http://www.elderhostel.org/
For more information on Learning Later, Living Greater visit http://www.learninglater.com/
You can purchase Learning Later, Living Greater at http://www.amazon.com/

Till Next Time…

Tuesday's Treasures

On Tuesday's we are going to take a trip down memory lane with some "remember when" photos and stories submitted by our students. It could be photos from a high school prom; a nostalgic look at a 1950's TV program or a collage of photos that were just taken last week. If you have memories, old or new, you would like to share, send them to me at mxw8110@yahoo.com.


Cherry Blossom Time!
Where flowers bloom so does hope.
- Lady Bird Johnson, Public Roads: Where Flowers Bloom


Roger Slover, who took these lovely photos at the Dallas Arboretum, gives us a bit of a commentary saying, "'Cherry Lane' is a panorama of four images and is used as the top three slots in the nine frame 'Views on Cherry Lane'. The left and center slots of the center row of the nine frame are one image, as are the center and right slots of the bottom row."

Who can estimate the elevating and refining influences and moral value of flowers with all their graceful forms, bewitching shades and combinations of colors and exquisitely varied perfumes? These silent influences are unconsciously felt even by those who do not appreciate them consciously and thus with better and still better fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables andflowers, will the earth be transformed, man's thought refined, and turned from the base destructive forces into nobler production. One which will lift him to high planes of action toward the happy day when the Creator of all this beautiful work is more acknowledged and loved, and where man shall offer his brother man, not bullets and bayonets, but richer grains, better fruit and fairer flowers from the bounty of this earth.

- Father George Schoener (1864 -1941), The Importance and Fundamental Principles of Plant Breeding

These are a couple I took at the Dallas Arboretum as well---really, Dallas Blooms is not to be missed folks!

With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy.

- Lope de Vega

In the cherry blossom's shade there's no such thing as a stranger.

- Issa

Special thanks to Roger Stover for sharing his great images with us.

Capture the Moment Monday

This week the blog will be sharing images of Spring. If ever there was a good subject for Capture the Moment Monday it would be pictures gathered by seniors at a time like Dallas Blooms!

Dallas Blooms

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Earth laughs in flowers." How right he was! If you want a real treat, and you live in the area, head for the Dallas Arboretum. It is quite simply--MARVELOUS!

Flower beds to die for, fountains, garden sculpture, a wonderful gift shop and the fascinating Degolyer house to tour. And tour we all did--my husband and I went Friday and ran into four of my students, all taking pictures!



I plan on dedicating most of this week to a celebration of our Arboretum in spring combined with the photographic talents of my senior students.

Roger Slover used a number of his excellent photos to create some collages. Being a friend to our blog, he has kindly agreed to share them with us.

Roger said, "Dora and I each shot about 140 images Friday. I sampled a color from each of the five images in "Colors of Spring" to form the frames, rather than use what could have been a distraction. I also used image resize to help when I cropped the 5 originals."



I just had to use "Fernando" in the middle of "Faces of Spring" after getting rid of a couple of crowding trees; he looks better isolated against the blue sky.



Can you believe this is more fun than taking digital shots thru a microscope--this will make sense to my former co-workers at TI-DLP!"

Below is one of the images I took of my husband in front of an impressive "Fernando the Bull." Pardon the hat Texas fans!



Take the family or go alone--it is glorious!

Tomorrow on the blog--cherry blossom time!

I will be the gladdest thing

Under the sun!

I will touch a hundred flowers

And not pick one.

~Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Afternoon on a Hill"

Special thanks to Roger Slover for sharing his fine photography with us!

Saturday Star Review

The year 2009 brought many mixed blessings along with it. For our blog, that year featured many interesting images and stories. Since we have more and more new people befriending our blog, sometimes on Saturday we will be doing a review of some of the offerings from our first year.

Six Generations

This is one of my own images. It is my mother when she was two or three years old. The other women are her mother, her grandmother, and her great grandmother. Looking at this image, I can feel their presence across the generations.

In this picture my mother is 83. The other women are my sister, my daughters and me.

Put them together and there are 6 generations of us in one image!

George Bernard Shaw said, “Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future generations.”


Have a great day!

Internet Magic Fridays

Jane Booras is the Editor of numerous newsletters including our Campus Times. She will be sharing how you can find whatever you need - photos, clipart, information, maps, phone numbers - on the Internet.


Look out! I have a computer, and I know how to use it!

Well most of the time anyway.

But don’t ever think that people who know how to use computers never have problems with them, because they do. That goes for the software resident on the computer itself, and websites on the Internet. There are always mysteries in cyberspace and I’m sure there always will be.

If you’re just beginning to use your computer and explore the Internet, be patient – with the computer and with yourself. Not all those funny little messages appear because of something YOU don’t know. We all get them. The dilemma is, how do you deal with them?

First, be sure your computer is protected by a firewall. To learn what a firewall is and why you need one, go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/firewall/faq.mspx

Click on each question and the answer appears. You’ll see that you can also find out if your computer already has a firewall installed.

Next, you must have anti-virus protection. Antivirus software is a computer program that detects, prevents, and takes action to disarm or remove malicious software programs, such as viruses and worms. You can help protect your computer against viruses by using antivirus software.

Computer viruses are software programs that are deliberately designed to interfere with computer operation, record, corrupt, or delete data, or spread themselves to other computers and throughout the Internet. You don’t have to go to the store to buy these programs. You can download them from the Internet once you have chosen the right program for your computer.

To help prevent the most current viruses and spyware, you must update your antivirus software regularly. You can set up most types of antivirus software to update and scan your computer automatically.

There are many well-known anti-virus software packages available, usually for a pretty reasonable annual fee. Two of the best known are Norton® and McAfee®. There are also a few free anti-virus programs available. Do some research on Google and by talking to other computer savvy friends about which one is the best for you.

And, of course, identity theft is also a big concern. Here are links to some good articles from Microsoft about anti theft computer protection:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/expert/honeycutt_spyware.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/default.mspx

Just remember, you should never go to the Internet without first making sure your computer is protected with both a firewall and anti-virus protection. Promise!

Lifelong Learning Thursday

Nancy Merz Nordstrom, author of Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret of Making the Most of Your After 50 Years will share the benefits of Lifelong Learning on Thursdays.

LEARNING LATER, LIVING GREATER:

The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years.

Lifelong Learning in Your Later Years…

A Health Club for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit!

Continuing our discussion of lifelong learning through meaningful community service…

According to the Wall Street Journal, a growing number of mature volunteers are seeking positions that offer something more–more influence, more authority, more power. They are taking leadership positions in volunteer organizations ensuring that their skills, wisdom and knowledge are being utilized to the fullest.

A 2008 estimate by the Independent Sector says that the dollar value for volunteer work is $20.25 an hour. Given that number, can you imagine what an incredible resource the 76 million Baby Boomers will be to our society, if only a modest number of them engage in community service work? If that’s the case, than what this generation of older adults will give back to society far outweighs what they will take out, thereby negating the doomsday economic predictions of what the retirement of the Baby Boomers might mean to our society.

Lifelong learners who are already offering their skills to the public sector, however, have set a wonderful example for the coming wave of older adults on how to engage in community service.

To set the stage for the further exploration of community service, in future blogs I’ll give you some concrete examples of how these current-day lifelong learners engaged in meaningful volunteerism. We’ll also talk about the many aspects of community service, and give you resources to help you decide how community service can fit into your life and your goal of being a complete lifelong learner.

THURSDAY’S THOUGHT…
According to one lifelong learner, Volunteering is one of the best ways people over 60 can contribute to their own well-being. So very, very true!

For more information on Learning Later, Living Greater visit http://www.learninglater.com/ You can purchase Learning Later, Living Greater at http://www.amazon.com/

Till Next Time…

Age in Place Wednesday

On Wednesdays, Laurie Orlov, tech industry veteran, writer, speaker and elder care advocate will be sharing her insightful research on how seniors can safely and successfully live independent lives in the home of their choice.

Technology Connects, Protects Seniors

Products for an aging -- but plugged-in -- population address brain fitness, social networking, personal monitoring, and the concerns of caregivers.

By Michael Greene, InformationWeek March 23, 2010 URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224200102

Technology emerged as a major theme in the 2010 Aging in America conference in Chicago from March 15-18, the largest annual national gathering of senior service providers.

Products displayed at this year's event, and at the follow up Boomer Business Summit on March 19, reflect advancements in the fields of brain fitness, social networking, home monitoring, and caregiving.

Perhaps the greatest fear related to aging is loss of cognitive abilities. Studies suggest that seniors who consistently participate in mentally stimulating leisure activities maintain higher levels of intellectual ability and significantly reduce the risk of dementia.

Dakim, one of the industry's leading providers of turnkey hardware/software solutions for brain fitness exercises at senior facilities has announced a new software-based product for home use.

According to Charles Robinson, Regional VP of the Midwest, BrainFitness software shipping in early April is superior to typical stimulating activities such as crossword puzzles or Sudoku because it crosstrains the brain in six cognitive dimensions. These include: long- and short-term memory, computation, visual spatial orientation and critical thinking.

Perhaps most importantly, the program tracks and adjusts to the senior's level of mental ability, thereby keeping the activity engaging. The CD-based product is listed for $349 and requires the user to have only minimal experience with a traditional PC or Mac interface.

Home and personal monitoring also continue to advance. BeClose has announced a product that connects motion sensors throughout a home with automatic alerts sent to family or other caregivers when unexpected patterns are detected (lack of movement throughout the day, excessive bed rest, etc.). A Web portal allows customized tracking of different types of events with automated alerts for each interested family member or caregiver.

Other companies focus on different slices of the same space by placing sensors directly on a person's body. Wellcore's product is a clip-on device about the size of a small beeper.

HaloMonitoring uses a band around the chest or waist. Unlike many remote alerts that require a manually press of a button to notify others to a problem, these products use accelerometers to analyze movement and automatically determine if a fall has occurred.

Given the reluctance of many seniors to let others know about accidents, even when they are injured, automated notifications can be a lifesaver. Gaining a senior's compliance to wear a monitoring device can be a challenge, however.

For families involved in the day-to-day activities involved with caregiving, there are a number of new tools, such as eCareDiary.com to help in the tracking and coordination of responsibilities relating to long term care. Developed by people who personally faced the challenges of caring for aging family members suffering from debilitating disease, the site provides a set of simple tools.

They include: the sharing of health related documents and a calendar that enables family members to track appointments and key medical information. Discussion boards and blogs that allow caregivers to connect with each other, share tips, and provide support during what can be a long and emotionally challenging period.

Tuesday's Treasures

On Tuesday's we are going to take a trip down memory lane with some "remember when" photos and stories submitted by our students. It could be photos from a high school prom; a nostalgic look at a 1950's TV program or a collage of photos that were just taken last week. If you have memories, old or new, you would like to share, send them to me at mxw8110@yahoo.com.

Delicious!

How about these? I was just talking to one of my students about the importance of us seeing the marvelous work that is being done by our age group. There is no time to sit in your rocking chair and retire from life. You have too much to share!!

This is from one of my Collage Class students. What a lovely collage! The gentleman's daughter goes to Dallas blooms once a year with her students. He was with them, fortunately had his camera with him and took these images. Then he had them available to use this year in our Collage class. The moral being, the best camera is the one you have with you!


In 2007 he and and his wife went on a Fall foliage trip in Massachutsetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island. How about that for color watching! We did this collage in template form in class and he applied his own images to it. The combination of 5 images fairly jumps off the page!

I do so appreciate my students allowing me to share their work!

George Bernard Shaw said, "Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you creat what you will."

Photo Tips Monday

Dave Berry, Director of the Photography Department at Computer School for Seniors will be sharing his insightful Photo Tips with you every Monday for Capture the Moment Mondays.

Dave & Patti's Carribean Cruise--Part 1

Patti and I went on a Cruise to the Southern Caribbean just a few weeks ago. I am going to do a blog post each week covering each of our stops on the cruise, so here is week #1…Puerto Rico. In the coming weeks I will cover Barbados, St. Lucia, Antiqua, Tortola and St. Thomas.

We flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico a day ahead of the ship’s departure. We always do this to have a day to relax and unwind before boarding the ship. Travel days can really stress and tire you out, plus the weather in Dallas is so unpredictable, we have found it just makes trips start off better by leaving here a day ahead of time.

Puerto Rico is a beautiful island with much to enjoy and photograph….

There are historical sites like El Morro Fort with 18 foot thick walls rising 140 feet from the sea(completed in 1589) which was used to defend San Juan’s harbor against pirates. It is a maze of tunnels, dungeons, barracks and ramps.




Old San Juan’s cobblestone streets with beautiful window boxes filled with colorful flowers, magnificent cathedrals and fountains and narrow streets, are a photographers paradise. You never run out of things to capture with your lens. There are casinos and historic hotels alongside new modern resorts, there is a rainforest too and if you enjoy tours, the Bacardi Rum Factory is here (they produce 100,000 gallons daily).


If you listen carefully in the early evening hours, you may hear the sound of the tiny coqui frog. It is a very popular creature throughout the island and enlivens the evenings with its timid ko-kee sound from which it get its name. The coquies begin to sing when the sun goes down at dusk, singing all night long until dawn.

The island sells many items depicting this popular little frog and if you look closely you may get to see one. We were fortunate as there were some in the bushes around the hotel swimming pool making their music.

We stayed at a hotel right on the beach, our room faced the ocean and we had a balcony on the 16th floor looking straight out to the beautiful blue water. We took a walk along the beach, it was a gorgeous day and the light was perfect for me and my cameras. Sometimes you get so focused on catching that perfect shot, that you forget you are standing at the oceans edge and a little wave catches you by surprise! Luckily I had shorts on! We happened upon a couple that had just gotten married and they were taking their wedding pictures on the beach, quite a picturesque spot too, except the brides dress and the grooms shoes and pants were getting pretty wet! I caught some gorgeous shots of them standing on the rocks surrounded by the swirling waves.

We had dinner that evening in a great Italian restaurant and retired early, getting lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves…I could get used to this!

Sunday morning came and we boarded our ship, the beautiful Caribbean Princess. We will soon arrive at our first port, Barbados. So stay tuned for our next stop--See you in Barbados !!!

Thanks to Dave and Patti Berry for sharing their trip and photos with us. If you have a travel experience to share be sure and let us know so we can blog about it!

Saturday Star Spotlight

Seniors are doing a lot of exciting things and we're looking forward to featuring their impresssive accomplishments every Saturday in our Star Spotlight.

Fun and Unique

One of my favorite assignments for the Photoshop Elements Collage Class I teach for seniors here in Dallas is the "Nine Square Template." I always enjoy the the interesting combinations my students come up with to make each template unique.

This first one is done by Charlie Vinson, and as you can see there is a soft edge around each flower image. Then a straight edge around the subject of the collage, Doris, his mother-in-law, to make that picture stand out just a bit.



Here in Dallas we have an Arboretum that is truly beautiful. Each Spring and Fall they really spruce the place up and many people visit them. Here is a nine-square collage done by Ray Bolton from his visit there. It shows a nice representation of the many features this lovely spot has to offer.

And another image from Ray Bolton that is just for fun. He created the texture for the background and then added pictures of mighty cartoon warriors. My grandson will love this one!

"As we grow as unique persons, we learn to respect the uniqueness of others." ~Robert Schuller

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is Youer than You." ~Dr. Seuss

Special thanks to Charlie Vinson and Ray Bolton for sharing their images with us on the blog!

Lifelong Learning Thursday

Nancy Merz Nordstrom, author of Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret of Making the Most of Your After 50 Years will share the benefits of Lifelong Learning on Thursdays.

LEARNING LATER, LIVING GREATER:

The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years.

Lifelong Learning in Your Later Years…

A Health Club for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit!

Over the last year, we’ve explored both lifelong learning in the classroom and through educational travel as ways to enhance and enrich our “After 50” years. Now, let’s spend some time examining yet a third way, lifelong learning through community service.

The coming wave of Boomers are the “rebels with a cause” who brought enormous change to society in the 1960s and 1970s. Many of them, it is expected, will look to continue their pioneering social efforts into their later years.

The current population of older adults, most from the “Greatest Generation,” are already demonstrating their strong commitment to society by engaging in a wide range of civic endeavors. So, with that being said, we’ll now examine the connection between lifelong learning and meaningful community service-how lifelong learners get involved and help society better serve us all.

In earlier blogs, we talked about how becoming involved in lifelong learning can lead to other things. Meaningful community service is one of those “other things.” Lifelong learning, combined with meaningful community service, so engages all your senses that it produces a natural “high,” a feeling so unique and exquisite that you will find yourself looking for other ways to keep that exuberance a permanent fixture in your “After 50” years.

Meaningful community service, however, is different for each person. It’s all about engaging in whatever endeavor makes you feel complete and useful. It’s all about whatever activity enriches and stimulates you life. For some, meaningful community service might mean getting involved at higher levels with volunteer organizations. For others, something entirely different.

Whatever it means to you, however, you can be sure that by using your wisdom and experience, you can soar to greater heights and deliver even greater impact in whatever project you undertake. Volunteers routinely encounter new perspectives and ideas that challenge as much as they enlighten. Your involvement in meaningful community service will help add yet another facet to your lifelong learning quest.

Next week…More on Meaningful Community Service

THURSDAY’S THOUGHT…
Dr. Tom Dooley, the great humanitarian said, Dedicate some of your life to others. Your dedication will not be a sacrifice. It will be an exhilarating experience because it is an intense effort applied toward a meaningful end. Getting involved in meaningful community service will take your life in an entirely new direction.

For more information on Learning Later, Living Greater visit http://www.learninglater.com/ You can purchase Learning Later, Living Greater at http://www.amazon.com/

Till Next Time…

Tuesday's Treasures

On Tuesday's we are going to take a trip down memory lane with some "remember when" photos and stories submitted by our students. It could be photos from a high school prom; a nostalgic look at a 1950's TV program or a collage of photos that were just taken last week. If you have memories, old or new, you would like to share, send them to me at mxw8110@yahoo.com.

For Those Who Lived Through It!

One of the assignments for the Collage Class I'm teaching right now is creating a nine-square template where different pictures and text can be added. As always, I thoroughly enjoy what my students come up with.

The two images below address an unusual situation for Dallas...lots of snow!

This first collage is surely one you would stop and peruse! When Roger Slover agreed to let me use his work on the blog, I asked him to talk a little about it. Here is what he said:

"The top three squares show the increasing depth of snow over time.

The snow scenes were already gray. I chose the most colorful of the photos I had with red berries as a contrast and focal point in the middle of winter.

The scene at the 3 o'clock position was a chain link fence! The two lower corners were of snow falling at its heaviest to show the motion in action.

I used the berry color for part of the text to emphasize snow in Texas:"

As is often the case, I am "surprised by joy" as C. S. Lewis would say, with the variety that emerges when we do this simple nine-square template.

The next image, also of winter a winter scene, was done by Ray Bolton (he's just as good as we knew he was going to be Vicki!). The bottom six squares are all one picture. Then the top three squares are different pictures.

Sepia color was added in an adjustment layer above all the images. The text color came from one of the images in the collage. Then each square was stroked with that color. Finally the squares and text were stroked with off-white.

These two collages are exactly why I love my work!!! What a wealth of creativity we have in our age group!

I agree with Bo Bennett who said, "Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity."

A special thanks to Roger Slover and Ray Bolton for allowing me to show their work!

Inspirational Sunday

Bill Witcher, co-founder of Computer School for Seniors will be sharing words of encouragement, inspiration and hope with you each Sunday.

The Lion Chaser's Manifesto

Our Pastor shared this with us a few Sundays ago. It's taken from The Community Fellowship’s series of Chase the Lion adapted from Mark Batterron’s In A Pit With A Lion on a Snowy Day.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.

Pursue God-ordained passions.

Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.

Keep asking questions.

Keep making mistakes.

Keep seeking God.

Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution.

Stop repeating the past and start creating the future.

Stop playing it safe and start taking risks.

Expand your horizons.

Accumulate experiences.

Consider the lilies.

Enjoy the journey.

Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can.

Live like today is the first day and last day of your life.

Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God.

Burn sinful bridges.

Blaze a new trail.

Criticize by creating.

Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks.

Don’t try to be who you’re not.

Be yourself.

Laugh at yourself.

Quit holding out.

Quit holding back.

Quit running away.

Chase the lion!