Category Nature

What Lies Beneath…

Intentergy 2 Comments

What lies beneathvia Daily Prompt: Hesitate

Water that is deep or murky enough to prevent me from seeing too far from the surface is water that makes me hesitate.

I guess fear of the unknown or getting in over my head creates my fear.

Life is 150% like those waters.

Life presents us with many unknown factors and it is way too easy to get in over our heads. The only difference is that in life we can’t always hesitate.

My daughter has recently developed an obsession for gymnastics. She is constantly flipping and cartwheeling around the house. It is maddening. I just know she is going to round right off our porch or tumble right onto her neck. Seriously, it is maddening. The crazy thing about her gymnastics fixation is her lack of hesitation. Without any doubt she hurls herself forward or backward to work on her aerial or back hand spring. I am leery of signing her up for gymnastics lessons for a number of reasons: financial commitment, time commitment, potential for injury, and that she will lose interest as quickly as she fell into it. When my husband and I discussed signing her up, he said, “She could break her neck walking down the stairs. We can’t keep her from doing things because she might get hurt.” Then I told him how much it cost. (He was way more afraid of the price.) Continue reading “What Lies Beneath…” →

What do you see? – Thoughtful Thursday

Intentergy 12 Comments

What do you see

When you look at this log peeking out of the water, what do you see?

On a recent trip to the creek, my daughter was walking across a partially submerged log and discovered this cool formation sticking up from the water.

“Mom, what do you see?” she asked pointing to this unusual tree.

After giving it a moment’s thought, I said, “A turtle head sticking out of the water.”

She replied, “Me too!”

My youngest son said it was as lizard. My oldest son said it kind of looked like a horse with a really short snout. My husband said we all had way more imagination than him. 🙂

While this log provided a fun family discussion on our creek exploration, it also created opportunities for a number of Intentergy lessons.

png 1 What do you see? Share this photo with family or friends and strike up a conversation that is based purely on nature and imagination. These can be terrific conversations.

png 1 Appreciate the opportunities nature provides us. If you can stand the heat or when it cools down, get outside. Walk. Journal. Photograph. Play. Nature is free and a wonderful gift to share with your loved ones.

png 1 Take a break from the obvious. Allow yourself to see something new in your surroundings. Whether it is finding fun shapes in the clouds or discovering beautiful new shades of color in the leaves, you are guaranteed to find inspiration and escape in allowing your outlook to change.

png 1 Learn from the different view points of others. When we talk about how we see things differently, we learn about one another and how to communicate effectively. Understanding different view points also develops healthier relationships and fosters kinder and more loving interactions.

Put some imagination and communication into your intents today. Positive energy is sure to flow and you may see things as you have never seen them before.

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. I really do want to know what you see in that picture.

 

 

Don’t Keep All Summer in a Day

Intentergy 9 Comments

All Summer in a Day.jpg

Ray Bradbury’s short story “All Summer in a Day” takes place on Venus and at a school where the children eagerly await the one day that summer will occur. On Venus summer comes once every seven years for just a matter of hours. The rest of the time the weather is stormy, windy, and overcast. This day is especially important to young Margot. Margot’s family moved from Earth and are considering the costly and arduous process of returning to the third planet from the sun for fear of losing their daughter to heartbreak. Margot is small, pale, and all too lonely. ‘She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitenedaway, and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghost.” The school children tease and ostracize her for her homesickness and taunt her about the only artwork she creates, pictures of life back on Earth. (The other children have no memories of what life is like on Earth.)

As the time nears to go outside and enjoy the rare sunshine, plants, and warmth, the children think it funny to lock Margot in the closet. They do not intend to leave her there but forget the grief-stricken girl as soon as the first rays of sun appear. Continue reading “Don’t Keep All Summer in a Day” →

Abandoning Time

Intentergy 7 Comments

Abandonded time

Time is tough to abandon but it sure is nice to let it go sometimes.

Playing in the creek is one of our favorite summer pastimes. Throwing rocks, building bridges, hunting crawdads and tadpoles, fishing, and picking wild flowers are the best ways to forget that there is a life too full of demands waiting beyond those creek banks.

I think my favorite thing about the creek is that it provides us with “rush free” fun. We are able to abandon our watches and phones. We are able to abandon the worries of dishes, laundry, and bill paying. We are able to abandon the stresses of schedules and calendars. We are trying to abandon time.

Rarely does a day pass when my kiddos fail to ask if we can go to the creek. They understand and appreciate the fact that when we are at the creek, they are free to play, work, and dream right along with those currents. The fact that the water, animals, and plants are all there naturally makes it the perfect place for us to play and grow. The fact that the creek never reminds us that we have to be somewhere else is magic.

On our last trip to the creek, my son caught some amazing crawdads. (They were huge!) He put them in a bucket and dutifully added rocks and fresh water to the bucket to make the crawdads happy. When it was time to leave, he cried. Oh, how he cried! He did not want to release the crawdads.  Continue reading “Abandoning Time” →

Catching Luck

Intentergy 7 Comments

Clammy

The last thing my daughter expected to catch out of Grandma’s pond was this mussel.

Sunday was a beautiful evening and the kids requested to fish in Grandma’s pond. What the heck, we weren’t doing anything else. Popo dug up a few worms, my three little anglers grabbed some poles, and we were off the pond bank.

Our youngest chose a Lightening McQueen fishing pole. My older son chose a tried-and-true Zebco. My daughter chose Grandma’s very nice and expensive Shakespeare pole because it was guaranteed to catch the biggest fish (at least according to my daughter).

After just a few minutes, both boys had reeled in some nice, little blue gill and bass. In spite of her desperate desire to catch a fish, my little girl went without a bite for quite some time.

Suddenly, she yelled, “There’s something on my hook. It’s really heavy.” Clearly there was something on her line because she was struggling to bring it in, but there didn’t seem to be any fight in the water.

Continue reading “Catching Luck” →

Danger flows – Thoughtful Thursday Poem

Intentergy Leave a comment

Danger Flows – Thoughtful Thursday Poem via Photo Challenge: Danger!

Danger flows

Recently rocks could be seen and blades of grass reached for the sky
Now they are hidden beneath remnants of storms.
Murky brown, stagnant waters have filled indentations in the land,
puddling the roads and lawns.
Foaming heads roar over the creek banks.
Rivers are too swollen to assuage their growing pains.
Do not feed the flooding streams with your bravery.
Within those stormy remnants flows danger.

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

Fairy Garden Dreams Become Reality (pixie dust not required)

Intentergy Leave a comment

Fairy Garden Dreams Become Reality (pixie dust not required)

fairy garden love

Three years ago my children saw the Tinkerbell movie and began planning to make a fairy garden. Well, this year we finally made it happen!

This is one of those magical projects that brought my kids and I together in a successful collaboration of creativity.

The local dollar store provided adorable and affordable garden decor and my good friends at Dudenhoeffer’s Countryside Gardens offered the sweetest little plants for our flowery festivities.

Even though each of my children started out with roughly the same tools and supplies, fairy garden girlthey each created a unique and whimsical fairy garden. The garden of each child was an terrific representation of their personalities.

There were two things that I really loved about this project.

  1. My kids played in the dirt and made something cool. It doesn’t get any better than that!
  2. I was able to witness my children’s imagination at work. There is nothing more inspiring and motivating than pure, childlike awe and excitement. I honestly wish I had made a garden for myself. Tapping into that innocence and creativity would do anyone’s heart some good.

fairie garden 2

While we know fairies aren’t real, it is important to remember that nurturing the ideas and wishes of our children is a very real and necessary element of life. Providing opportunities to dream and create is something that benefits all of us.

The fairy gardens are beautifully displayed along our front walk. They bring smiles to the faces of everyone who comes to our home and provide a tremendous sense of pride for my children. I have caught each of them peeking at their gardens wondering if the fairies had visited. Their awe and wonder is so sweet.

I encourage you to take time to create something with those you love. Share your dreams and imagine together. You don’t have to build a garden to create something that lasts. The longest lasting part might be the memories you make, but those memories are magical. They can appear anytime you choose.

Believe in the magic of time spent together. Allow yourself to be inspired by the imagination that is shared. Put your intent into building energy that grows love and memories. It doesn’t require more than a little faith and trust (pixie dust not required.)

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. I really do want to make my own fairy garden someday.

 

Adventures with my Children…Where did they go?

Intentergy 12 Comments

Adventures with my Children…Where did they go? via Daily Prompt: Blindly

Blind Adventures.jpg

At 2:06 p.m. on Saturday I called my neighbor Lisa.

The call went something like this:

Me: Lisa, are you home?

Lisa: Yes, what’s up?

Me: I can’t find my kids. Did they make it up the creek behind your house? 

Lisa: Oh no. I haven’t seen them.

Me: I have been looking for about half an hour. They don’t answer when I call for them. I can’t even find the dog.

Lisa: Okay, I will go… (phone goes dead)

Me: (insert four letter word that starts with “d”) Continue reading “Adventures with my Children…Where did they go?” →

Hang In There!

Intentergy 1 Comment

Hang In There!

Hang in There 17

Last week my son, who is in kindergarten, was not wanting to go to school. He sulked the whole way. As we pulled into the school parking lot, I said, “Cheer up, buddy, you only have like 9 more weeks until summer.”

The transformation of his attitude was too great to express in words. The smile that crept onto his face was radiant, and he said with tremendous hope, “And then I will be a 1st grader?”

Who knew the potential of being a 1st grader was the motivation he needed to hang tough that day? I thought the promise of sleeping in, baseball, and summer vacation would get him going. (Silly mama!) The things that motivate are as unique as each individual in any situation.

Spring is a season of excitement and new beginnings but the hints of those new beginning can really challenge us. We feel the effects of spring fever and it makes it hard to stay focused and hang in there.

At a recent get-together with some of my friends (most of whom are teachers), all shared their end-of-school countdowns. Each one knew exactly how many days were left. (Teachers are just as excited as students for summer.) That number, the exact number of days left in school, was something that brought smiles to each of their faces.

I am never motivated by the number of days remaining. I am motivated by the lessons I have

Bring on the rain (1).JPG

A storm rolling in

left to teach. I know exactly what I want to teach before the end of the year and I keep those goals in the forefront of my focus. Again, the things that motivate us are as unique as we are.

As we hang tough with spring, we have to keep in mind the different motivations and stressors of those around us. The blooming ambitions of students, co-workers, family, and friends sprout anxieties and issues that storm through relationships. It can be tough to hang with the winds of change and stress, but it can be done.

Hang in there! Keep your focus on productive goals and grace in your words. Patience and understanding will prevail with a sunny disposition. Add positive intent and determined energy and fair days will flourish.

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. Follow the rainbow.jpg

 

 

Why are shadows so darn scary?

Intentergy 2 Comments

Why are shadows so darn scary?

afraid-of-a-shadow

The weather was BEAUTIFUL this past weekend so I took my kiddos to the local playground. As we were swinging, my youngest son said, “Look how big I am!” (He was admiring how large the afternoon sun made him appear.)

My daughter was sitting on the swing next to him and she asked, “Mama, why do shadows scare me sometimes?” I laughed and told her I knew what she meant. I explained the meaning of the expression “Afraid of their own shadow.” She told me that she wasn’t afraid of her own shadow, just afraid of shadows sometimes because she didn’t know what they were.

Again, I assured her she wasn’t alone.

Here is the heart of my message. There are a lot of things out there that frighten us. Most of them are the unknown. Some of them are cold and dark. Some of them make small things seem enormous. Here is what we need to do to shed light on those scary old shadows:

png 1 Stop! Take a look at what is casting its shadow your way with an open-mind. When you allow yourself time to develop a clear perspective, it is a lot easier to find solutions to the situation that frightens you.

png 1 Shine your own light on the shadow. If the thing that frightens you is hanging around because of something scary a loved one is facing, be a beacon of joy and hope for them. When you share joy, it multiplies. Shadows don’t stand a chance when hope glows in the hearts of the frightened.

png 1 Tell the shadow to go away. If there is a threatening person or situation that continually darkens your door, let it go. Tell it to move on. Stand firm and move with unwavering intent to leave that shadow behind you.

png 1 Laugh it away. When you are able to face your fears and laugh in their shady faces, you are no longer afraid. You have put power into your own hands and taken charge of the situation.

png 1 Acknowledge that there will always be shadows to cross your path. Not every day can be all sunshine and roses. Not every song can be love and laughter. Not every story has a happy ending, but you can start a new tale or rewrite your personal history as you over come your shadowy fears. They exist but they the can only scare us if we let them.

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

P.S. I am not ashamed to admit that I have been scared by my own shadow once or twice.