A Heartfelt Request From Heart and Home

Greetings my friends!

                        

Every Wednesday is Wednesday Gratitude at Heart and Home. If you are joining the party, link to your actual WG post, and link back to Heart and Home. Please remember to leave a comment when you're done linking, and to visit the other participants! Thank you. Linky will be up by 5:00 PM PST.

“To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.” -Albert Schweitzer

Today I am expressing my thanks for my friend Kelee Katillac.

Since I first "met" her at "The Katillac Shack", Kelee has inspired me with her creativity, her warmth, her giving nature, and her positive spirit. Kelee is always one of the first people willing to jump in to help a friend, she loves animals and nature, and she is a clever and talented writer and interior designer. She's also quirky, funny, and a truly unique and special woman.  I am blessed and lucky to call her a friend ( and I get to be a "Shackster", too - how lucky is that?!). 

 Kelee recently wrote a powerful and heartfelt message about the oil spill in the Gulf, and I promised her I would help get the word out about Wednesday's prayer and positive thoughts vigil.

You all know I love the ocean, and once again I'm showing you MY magnificent and beautiful Pacific, and the beaches I love to walk. I'm sharing these pictures today in Kelee's honor, and I've included some of Kelee's thoughts in today's post, because she says it better than I ever could...

Kelee says: ".... the oil that is polluting the gulf is straight out of a horror flick. Or the substance of Hades itself.

Once we have this disaster in-hand we can address these better resources. Isn't it uplifting to know that we have compassionate solutions for the earth, ourselves, and our children...that are kindness based?  But, first-things-first: lets get some Divine light shed on the minds of the folks in charge..."

"Throughout history mothers, daughters, sisters and grandmothers have been the leaders in emergency causes....from war efforts to famine relief. We can, in our way, through the practice of prayer--or meditation or high thought--whatever you do-- affect this disaster for the positive. By sending authoritative and loving spiritual energy to the heavens we can help bring about a solution to this disaster and get this sickening oil flow stopped. Also, we can help deliver ideas-- from on high--to the minds of those who can get it cleaned-up."

"Will you join me in a 20 minute on-line prayer and positive energy vigil for the gulf oil disaster this Wednesday night?"

Sometimes we are faced with problems that seem impossible to face, and impossible to solve.

Often, the same problems manifest themselves over and over in different ways in our lives, reappearing and wreaking their havoc on us when we least expect them.

 At other times, there are small problems requiring simple solutions that we just can't see because we are lost in the middle of them. 

Those are the times when we seek help from a friend, when we need good advice, when we pray for guidance.

Most often, those are the times I take walks along the beach.

Usually, but not always, the answers I need come to me after long walks along the shore.

Sometimes, I find a bench and sit for a long time, staring out to sea.

Looking out upon the vastness of the ocean, watching the sky and clouds, the wind, the birds, the trees, and even the passers-by with their dogs and skates and bicycles, almost always helps to clear my mind.

Most often the answers come to me when I am at the shore, because I can clear my mind of all the clutter of everyday life, and just focus on what's important right then.

The ocean brings me clarity and peace. 

The ocean is our planet's largest resource, and contains Earth's most powerful life force.

The ocean is a fragile environment, and sadly, it needs to be protected from it's most dangerous and powerful antagonist: Humans.

But, also, Humans are the ocean's only allies and advocates.
Of course, the animals and sea life of our world's oceans can't speak for themselves, they can't rally for their environment and make changes that would benefit them and their ecosystems.

We hold that power exclusively, and we can at least try.

For more information about the silent prayer and positive thoughts vigil, please visit Kelee's blog HERE.
 Please spread the word - tell your friends, and enlist your families.

I believe together we can make a difference.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Thank you readers, followers, and Kelee!
Until next time
XO
Heidi

I'm linking to Outdoor Wednesday, at A Southern Daydreamer. Thank you Susan!