Holland! More Than Just Tulips and Old Windmills....

5-9-11
At the end of March I flew to Holland to visit a friend I had not seen in over 18 years.  We had originally met in Virginia Beach at the A.R. E. Foundation. (Edgar Cayce:  Association for Research and Enlightenment)  The next morning of all the places in Virginia Beach, we saw each other again at a church service.  From that point on we have been corresponding.

It was actually a bit brazen asking to visit a stranger in a strange country and to stay at her home.  But I felt strongly about going.  I was not disappointed.

 After an eight hour flight, a bit tired and anxious, my first sight was modern Amsterdam with thousands of daffodils blooming (too early for tulips).  What a welcoming sight! I then had a 70 mile cab ride--with a wonderful driver.  Finally, I arrived in Rotterdam.

 Iris came downstairs from her second floor apartment to greet me in the lobby.  It was as if I had just re-connected with my sister (I never had one).  Though I would not have recognized her without her sending a recent photo she still has those sparkling eyes.  (Yes, we have both aged considerably.)

 Iris is still upbeat, brilliant, funny, serious, motherly, caring and a truly loving soul, as I remember all those years ago.  Our similarities are a bit uncanny. It was fun to compare our lives as well as interesting from the men in our lives, political thoughts, ethical ideas, foods we eat, to the clothes we wear.  We found that we are both set in our ways, opinionated as ever, still actively creative, love nature & the outdoors and have a zest for learning new things.  We have both had some serious health issues.  Iris has trouble walking and now has a "scoot" to "run" around the harbor of Rotterdam.  She has endured several operations and may face some more. I have had three heart attacks--one with some heart damage.  Both of us are overweight.  (yes a wake up call for me. I am happy to report I lost weight walking around in Holland and am now doing about 45 minutes a day on the treadmill)  Both of us even wear the same style of clothes--in black.

Iris was a gracious hostess.  She made sure that I saw the sights of Rotterdam, taking me on a cruise boat tour, to the Euromast for a magnificent view of the harbor and various walking tours including the beautiful parks.   Her daughter, Monica, helped show me around the city and treated us to coffee in a restaurant overlooking the harbor.  We walked along the canals and I fell in love with the old sailing vessels.  I am a lover of boats--and until a couple of years ago, owned a large houseboat.  Before I left to go back home Iris loaded up my suitcase with typical Dutch treats.

Everywhere I went in Holland I was fascinated by the variety of architecture.  Rotterdam was 90% destroyed in WWII.  Most of the architecture is extremely stark and modern, though there is an old  section untouched by the bombing which was absolutely beautiful.

I felt safe where ever I went, welcomed by the people--all of whom spoke impeccable English.  I was impressed with how extraordinarily clean their homes, cars, cabs, streets and stores were.  There is a national pride and a feeling there that we in the US seem to unfortunately lack. 

Rather exciting to me was seeing the modern windmills and their efforts to use alternative energy.  They are now beginning to embed solar panels in roads for creating more non-polluting energy.  Even next to the interstate highways are bike paths--or for the "40er" vehicles.  These are very small electric/gas cars that the government offers high tax credits on.  They travel a max of 40 miles an hour.  Holland does extensive re-cycling.  Iris’ apartment makes excellent use of nature light and special fresh air louvers. She rarely turns on heat because the apartments are so well insulated.

The last day in Holland Iris took me to Amsterdam for the day.  What an amazing place.  I have never seen so many people walking or so many bikes.  In the US we have high-rise car garages--in Holland they have high-rise bicycle garages!    Amsterdam's architecture shows splendid row houses but many are collapsing due to the wooden pilings rotting beneath the canals. The sad thing is that most people who live there cannot afford the cost of renovating.  Perhaps my favorite thing was a church tucked away between the shops--only a small wooden door and sign to greet you.  However, once inside, a huge high-vaulted space opened up to a beautiful old cherished place.  The silence was incredible considering outside the wooden door was pandemonium.

I feel very honored and fortunate to have had such a wonderful journey and to have re-connected with a cherished friend. 

The people of Holland take pride in their country, are conservative in material aspects, are very worldly & diverse with over 80 nationalities living in Rotterdam--speaking English as well as Dutch, are very conscious of their health & looks--eating mostly fresh foods, live well –with many government aid programs including health care, and seem to possess a zest for life.  May we in the US follow their foot steps.....

Japan: A Shining Example of Respect, Caring and Unity

3-15-11 Tuesday morning

The recent earthquake in Japan is truly horrible to an unfathomable degree.  How could any of us have imagined such pain and destruction on such a massive scale?  It certainly has forced me in several areas to have new perspective views.  Above, I was struck by the gentleness and unity of Japan's people working together as one in so many different ways.

Obviously, the country now has electrical shortages.  The government had let the people know that there would be planned blackouts in order for all to have some power.  However, the people conserved so much energy on a voluntary basis, the planned black outs did not need to occur.  Or, take the fact that there have been no reports of looting anywhere.  Or,  in the refuge centers where food and water is scarce, they are helping others, however they can, who are less fortunate than themselves!  Or, amidst all the devastation, they are already recycling materials from the relief supplies!

I am personally struck on a deep heart level of the incredible respect and caring they have for others, their country as well as themselves.  Japan is a shining sample of true unity and respect of all souls. Patience and gratitude is close behind.  Look at the news reports of people waiting quietly in line for hours for gas or food.

It seems to me that we in America need to take to heart the actions of a people stressed way beyond what would be considered humanly possible.  If this had occurred in America, would there be this kind of unity?  Would there be no looting?  Would we have this much respect for each other?   Would we as a nation be this prepared and self-sufficient?  And, what about our level of patience, kindness and respect for each other as well as our government?

The emphasis in my own home, as well as Serenity's Edge has been built upon an emphasis of oriental aspects and philosophies involving  inner & outer peace, beauty & nature, gratitude & serenity.  Japan's scarring has brought out in their people shining examples of all of these aspects.

May we all go forth inspired by the courage and beauty of their souls.  I know that I am, as a result of their behaviors, even more deeply humbled by their a spirit of gratitude and grace.

Paula

A New Venture Begins Today

While I am a published author of two books, I must admit that I have been very reluctant to begin a blog.  My time is highly valued and limited because there is a lot to be done in maintaining Serenity's Edge by myself.

It seems to me that there is so much verbiage on the internet these days that is really quite worthless and a waste of time to read.  For example, on a facebook entry I noticed that the banter between two friends in a single day went like this...." I miss you today."  "I miss you too."  " "Do you really miss me?"  "Yes, I really miss you."  "So what are we going to do tonight?" "I don't know. What do you want to do?"  "I don't know.  What do you suggest?".... "It is so boring to just do work stuff."....  (So they are writing at their work place?  I pity their boss.)   Keep in mind that this was posted on their wall for the world to see. 

This one small example is a very sad situation of meaningless nothingness for the sake of writing for writing's sake and it is everywhere!  Here are just a few of other social network sites: twitter, myspace, linkedin, ning, tagged, hi5, friendster, mylife, orkut, multiply, meetup, bebo, perfspot, zorpia, netlog, and habbo.  Most people who use one site usually post on several sites several times a day.  Add to this, millions of text phone messages per minute.  Lastly, add many blog sites as well.  The whole thing is overwhelming in terms of the magnitude of raw words written per minute.  For what real value?  What is happening to truly meaningful writing?

So, here is my first posting--a rambling opinion of what has happened to America where we are so out of control in so many ways--including words.   I promise if I do continue this blog efforting, I will write with a passion for meaningful discoveries, ideas, things to share of significance and hopefully beneficial to others reading this.

I leave you  today with a request.  Please, watch what you say.  Be mindful of its content and affect on the world at large.

Wordingly yours,
Paula