This morning there were two emails in my Inbox which left me speechless, (almost). The first one left me speechless with sorrow at the darkness in people’s lives; the second left me speechless with joy (and tears). It reaffirmed my faith in the goodness that resides in our hearts. It reminded me that we do not need to be overcome by evil; there is goodness aplenty in this world, and there is more than enough for all of us, if we dare to share it around.
So, come share some of the goodness of this day, with me.
First the email, bringing good news from dear Lucy at Visual Fling
The painting; the gift of healing goodness.
Little one with Clematis; a gift of goodness from Lucy at Visual Fling http://visualfling.com/2014/09/04/memories-from-before-her-time/#comments
The Clematis, the powerful goodness of a flower that inspired us.
Clematis inspiration
I am blessed.
Thank you, Lucy, from the bottom of the heart of one who is now,
Power of the flower
and will always be that little girl with a flower in her hair, and a belief that goodness is nine-tenths of the world.
Looking forward; Gallivanta circa 1958-59
The copyright of the painting belongs to LucyJartz. Please help me thank Lucy for her kindness and generosity by visiting her blog Visual Fling for a clearer view of the commemorative painting.
© silkannthreades
silkannthreades 
Ah, another beautiful painting by Lucy!
And beautiful flowers and your hair with flowers is gorguse❤️
Lucy has spoiled me so much. Glad you like the flowers.
I should have read the posts in order! What a lovely gift. I recognise that little girl 🙂
It’s sometimes more fun to read them in dis-order! I always read my magazines from back page to front page!
A lovely painting again. And you look fabulous with the flowers in your hair! Just beautful!
The painting of the little girl goes right to my heart, Ute. And I just the love the flowers. The only trouble is I can’t see them when they are in my hair!
How beautiful the picture is. It is wonderful when someone can remind us of all the goodness in the world. 🙂
And I love the flowers in your hair!
The more I look at the painting the more I love it. Glad you love the flowers. I have been eagerly awaiting their return this spring.
A beautiful painting and a very thoughtful gift. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. Apparently bees like clematis paniculata but there were none about when I went to collect a few blooms for my vases.
I have some yellow Clematis of a similar form and they certainly like it.
Maybe there was too much else around that took their attention. 🙂
Beautiful pictures – the one from your friend, your childhood photo and then lovely to see you again with flowers in your hair. I was amused to see your comment above about losing your curls – I am sorry for your disappointment. But we always want what we haven’t got when it comes to hair, don’t you think? Mine has started to become more curly in recent years, and not in a good way 🙂 I have to keep it really short to keep it under control.
More seriously, I could hardly believe the stories about your friend’s farm, and your commentator’s friend’s name. Given that we can only ever control ourselves, and our own reaction to things (ie we cannot change or control external events), I think the key thing is to maintain a sense of grace, benevolence and forgiveness – following the examples of such role models as Mandela, Gandhi and Mother Theresa. If more of us are doing that than the opposite, then we can gain momentum. Oh, and there is hope – always hope. 🙂
The more grace, benevolence and forgiveness the better! But they do require hard work and commitment. I am wishing you folk in Scotland lots of grace and benevolence this week as you decide on your future. Whatever the outcome, we must be grateful that we, at least, have a choice and a vote. I am thinking also of elections in Sweden today, and in New Zealand this coming Saturday, as well as elections in Fiji. It’s going to be a week requiring great thoughtfulness by many people.
As for hair; I must be glad I have some! 😉
That is a gorgeous photo of you as a child! I love the painting as well. What a talent! 😀
Thank you, Dianne. Lucy used to photograph babies; in particular babies from the neo-natal intensive care unit on their Victory Day; the day they got to go home. Her love of little ones shines through in her painting.
I love the picture of your innocence when you believed that life was very much good and trustworthy. I went to the site asking about changing the name of their farm. I have a dear friend whose 93-year-old-mother, a truly kind and loving woman, is named Issis.
She has received so much pressure to use, NOW, the middle name she’s never liked, Lucille, in order to avoid being connected to all the death and pain. Even her daughter has advised her to use just her initials and call herself I-L.
She’s very confused and unhappy, and this is a painful time for her.
Marylin, how sad for your friend’s mother. How desperately sad. At 93 she should be free to hold to her own name, in all its beauty. When a birth is registered in New Zealand the Registrar can refuse to accept certain names. I wonder how they will treat Isis if it is given as a child’s name in the months to come. I do hope your friend’s mother will find a way to be called by the name of her choice.
Your post is a reminder of a song that was popular in the United States in the late 1960s: “If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.”
I am going to be so fit with all this memory jogging you have been instigating. 😀
I find memory jogging much less strenuous than the conventional kind of jogging.
Definitely!
How wonderful a gift – and thought – is not that! I can see you in that little girl – and may we all be able to let that little one inside us live for ever!
I hope we can all cherish our inner little one. 🙂
So sweet!
Thank you Bente. I doubt I was sweet all the time but, in that photo, you would think there was not a speck of naughtiness in me. 🙂
It’s good to be reminded, from time to time, of the kindness in the world. Lucy seems a very good example of it. 😉
She certainly is. I hope you have experienced kind help or have been kind to yourself in recent days. 🙂
Thank you. I have. 😉
Excellent.
What a lovely painting! And the thought that carries it is heart-warming and inspiring — goodness prevails through all the difficulties we may face…and healing follows. Thank you for sharing!
And, thank you, Tiny for your goodness in helping me with my blavatar issues. Hopefully I will remember what to do next time I want to change everything; could be tricky if I wait another two years!
Happy to help any time!
Thank you!
What a touching painting, and intention. Keeping that hopeful child alive inside, it’s so important no matter what age we are.
Indeed it is, Juliet. And, I am afraid, had temporarily forgotten about her. This was a good reminder to talk to her again.
One of my favourite quotes on good versus evil:
“Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts.” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956:
There are subtleties in the definitions of good and evil; often evil can appear to noble, even virtuous. May our hearts seek the good, the generous, the compassionate options.
There certainly are subtleties. I also find it interesting how hard we have to work at goodness; it seems to need constant practice and reinforcement. Much like the brain and the heart, we must use them or lose them.
The picture is lovely. What thoughtful gifts from Lucy!
Very thoughtful, indeed.
That was a wonderful painting of the young girl and the flowers in her hair. I can relate to your new avatar as a younger you. The real younger you had curly hair. Your hair in the picture now is straight?
YC, somewhere along the way of my life, I lost the curls. 😦 My hair now is neither curly, nor straight; it is unruly. 😀
I love the painting. So much promise in the eyes. I think if enough of us believe that there is more good than bad, maybe we will win.
I believe we will. I don’t know everyone in my street or neighbourhood but as I walk past each house, I imagine that most of the people are good people trying to live the best lives they can. Maybe naive but it’s comforting. And I have felt that way in every country I have lived; Zambia, Botswana, India, US, Egypt, Nepal, Fiji, New Zealand.
You surely do inspire others to make lovely things!
It’s amazingly lovely to have these out of the blue gifts; mana from heaven, so to speak.
I think your Lucy is very special! Not only as an artist, but as a human being – I am also touched at what she has gifted you! I am following her, but obviously not receiving her posts – shall check into my reader again.
I believe with all my heart that we must not buy into the acts and words of ignorance. We must stand as who we are and not step into their darkness, nor add to their power by feeling fearful. The world is turning and more and more quiet people are taking a stand against corporations, greed and ignorance. All hatred, racism, radicalism, bigotry, separatism and religious warfare is caused by ignorance. Greedy men and corporations use that ignorance for their own purposes. Educating ourselves, standing up for what we believe and not giving air time to things we don’t want is our work as human beings.
There is an apocryphal story of Mother Teresa, who declined to attend an anti-war march saying when they held a ‘rally for peace’ then she would attend. It excellently illustrates that she understood that where we put our attention is what we get more of. For me this has been the most powerful understanding which has wrought huge changes in my life and my world.
Please excuse this rant – your post has touched me deeply.
Not a rant at all but words of wisdom and good sense. In fact, the Pope seems to have taken up your words. Does he follow our blogs? 😉 http://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-marks-100-years-start-wwi-105735186.html I wish you were standing for Parliament. You would get my vote immediately. I am quite despaired about our elections next week. I believe I must vote but still can’t decide who for. Still a vote for someone is better than a vote for no one. 😀 And, yes, Lucy is special.
Why, perhaps he is! 🙂 What a wise man he is turning out to be!
I don’t think change happens in government – it happens when people start to move all by themselves and make things happen – then government trails along in their wake. Never under-estimate the power of positive thought and small acts of goodness and kindness!
Having said that, yes, we still have to vote. Just not for the ones who want to sell out our natural heritage or our green stance! 🙂 Throw fear to the wind and follow your heart 🙂
Ah, that’s an excellent reminder; that change happens with individuals, not Governments. A reminder, too, that Governments are in existence to serve the people and do our bidding. Politicians, did you hear that? 😀
I’m sure if the Pope is reading us the MP’s are too 😀
We can but dream! And hope!
What a wonderful painting that Lucy has created. Her second beautiful gift to you, Gallivanta, and so well deserved. May I please say this: you bring such compassion and wisdom to us through your writings; it’s much appreciated. Your contributions always bring new insights and perspective in a compassionate way that shines a light.
Thanks for drawing attention to Aggie and Lou’s situation. How thoughtful of you to balance this incident with something that uplifts us all. The ill that some people do can indeed be offset and even overpowered by the good actions of others. I see that happening on the Isis Farms blog right now with the support of the blogging community, including yours, my friend.
Thank you for your kind words Cynthia. Each night as I tuck myself into bed with A Good Home, I find your own stories of compassion and goodness. They are uplifting and restorative. 🙂
Thank you.
Lovely, lovely, lovely…
Thank you, Sally. It added such loveliness to my day. 🙂
Thank you for sharing Lucy’s art. I began following her blog. Your photo is nice as well. Every day, we read a wide variety of posts it seems. Good to learn. I am very encouraged along with the painful realities. Blessings to all, Ellen
Ellen, we learn so much from each other. Some things are painful, it is true, but there are also a multitude of blessings, like your haiku. And it was from you that I learned about clip art that keeps old images alive and valued.
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Darling Gallivanta, you are truly such a blessing to me, reaffirming my faith also that God is working in me to do good.
We are both blessed. 🙂
Yes, every day. 🙂
Our little post office just opened, so I am heading there right now! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yay!
I had to repackage. Did you know that if you go One Ounce over, they charge you for a whole other pound? It must have been the tape. I ran to the store to get some foam core to replace the layers of cardboard (it’s acid free so keep it for your frames) and went a little lighter on the tape this time. 🙂
Oh what a bother for you. The foam will be very useful. Thank you. I don’t post much these days but I am usually surprised by what I found out when I do.
I was shocked at the price jump for the next pound of weight, so I had to re-think it. But I really don’t mind. Finishing a project and having another one lined up is a pretty happy feeling. Life is beautiful.
So glad you have another project on the go.
Yes, me too. Each client request requires a different approach, but there is a lot of personal style in everything I do. And I like to stay productive.
And, particularly, challenging, if you haven’t actually met them, as was the case with me.
Well, I sort of met you, having followed SilkannThreades for so long, so it wasn’t completely a cold call.
True! By the way, I hope you will enjoy my posts this week. 🙂 It’s my week of healing and love.
I keep falling asleep, but I will catch up on my reading soon. I work 9 to noon at art and 12:30 to 5 at a multimedia job in town. So I do most of my reading after work or very early before I get ready for work.
A busy schedule. No rush, but I just wanted you to know how much your art is part of my life this week.
I’m heading over to your page right now to see another glimpse of beauty today. Thanks for the inspirations. ❤ Lucy
See you over there. I heard on the family grapevine that some of my dear family contacted you to ask about buying the paintings for me. Wasn’t that sweet of them? Your suggestion to help with the framing was much appreciated. 🙂
I thought they were very sweet. They told me to keep it a secret. Ha ha, they spilled. I hope you are very happy to know that you are surrounded by people who love you. The paintings are on their way and I hope you like them even more in frames on display. Your footnotes of “love” and “healing” are healing for me too. ❤ 😀
I find the footnotes healing too 🙂 :). It really was a lovely moment when they told me what they had tried to do.
I thought it was very generous and loving of them to offer, but I already had it bundled up to give them to you, and it would have been mean of me to charge them after I decided to make a gift. Those two, in the first place, were inspired not requested and you are welcome to them.
They only told me about their secret plan because they were so taken with your generosity. 🙂
Beautiful painting from Lucy, Gallivanta. And that is an adorable photo of you as a youngster!
I was saddened to hear about the troubles caused the farm in Texas over their name. I hope they are able to weather this storm.
Thank you Lavinia. Lucy’s painting reminded me of that early photo of myself so I went searching through my files to find it. It’s one of my favourites. I think the farm will weather the storm; farmers are resilient, aren’t they? 😉
Another lovely painting for you. And yet, I must confess — the photo of you as a child with your flower is delightful. As for all the rest — clearly, evil exists. So does stupidity, and part of our problem is that we too often confuse the two. But we have to acknowledge their existence, in order to stand against them. Sometimes we win, sometimes it seems we lose. But in the end, goodness wins. (How’s that for a faith statement?)
That’s a very good faith statement! And thank you for the reminder that we often confuse stupidity and evil. I would be guilty of that from time to time. Then there are categories which seem to be neither but are definitely not good. From the time I was very little, I knew there were ‘bad’ things, puzzlingly bad things. Every so often my nanny would turn up to work, beaten black and blue. She said her uncle beat her. I don’t know if that was so, nor do I remember what we did about it, but she was with us for awhile and was always so kind to me and my sister.
People like you bring light to this increasingly dark world. You were such a lovely little girl.
Thank you 🙂 . You also shed light on parts of the world that many of us don’t know as they truly are.
I surprise myself by my cuteness as a little one. My mother thoughtfully kept some of those curls. They are stored safely with my other treasures.
Good will is always contagious, so is positivism. We can’t fix all the problems in the world but we can make a small difference to people living around us. Loved Lucy’s painting, I am now following her blog. I must add that I feel very grateful that you take the time to read and comment all my architecture posts, sometimes too technical. Your comments make me very happy 🙂
By the way, little Gallivanta looks very cute!
We can make a difference, each one of us, even by doing very small things. Good architecture makes a difference. I don’t understand the technicalities, that’s for sure, but well-designed buildings and cities make healthy happy societies. I am convinced of that. ( I have a half -written post, on the subject, which I may get round to finishing one day!)
Oh you should definitely finish that article soon. Although architecture is going through a world crisis right now I think people are becoming aware of the consequences bad design has on cities and on society. I was horrified by architecture in China when I visited this summer. Hopefully us, young designers, can make a change in the future. Looking forward to reading your article!
I am counting on you young architects!
Bless.
Thank you. 🙂
I used to believe that goodness was more powerful than evil, and would like to believe still. I have to say that when I look at what goes on in this world, it seems that greed is overwhelmingly dominant. I do appreciate and seek relationships with people like you. Thanks for commenting on our Isis Farms name issue. It’s a pleasure to meet you. –Aggie
There are so many problems, Aggie. I feel overwhelmed at times. But I am determined to back goodness. I hope goodness will prevail for you, too. I am deeply sorry to hear of the ignorance and stupidity that are blighting your lives, at present.
Oh, that’s a very minor problem. What bothers me is the bigger issues. Like the potential to destroy our planet and ourselves by taking away the ability of our food plants to produce viable seed, by radiation and chemical poisoning, by wars and senseless killings, that sort of stuff. I’m with you. Will put my life force into balanced good for all.
In the overall scheme, it is perhaps a minor issue. However, I do feel that unless we can speak/communicate in a civil and respectful manner with each other, we will not ever learn to speak in a kindly, respectful way to the earth. Just a feeling ;).