Halloween is one of my favorite times of year, can you tell? It's a time for devishish fun and an opportunity to put on a costume and, for a few hours, pretend to be somebody else...maybe someone from our fantasy. Do you know the history behind this one-of-a-kind holiday? October 31st, falling between fall and winter, the richness of harvest and the poverty of a long winter, between the death of summer and rebirth of spring, this day was originally tied in with the Celtic festival of Samhain. Pope Gregory, in the the eighth  century, declared November 1st as a day to honor the Saints and martyrs...All Saints Day. The night before was known as All Hallows' Eve or Halloween. People would light fires and wear costumes to scare off the roaming ghosts. The Celtic area, originally was Ireland, United Kingdom, and northern France. November 1st was celebrated as their New years. The eve before, it was thought, the  boundary between the living world and spirit world was blurred. The ghosts of the dead would return to the land of the living. The Celts thought that these spirits would cause trouble and damage crops. Thus the lighting of bonfires and the waering of costumes, usually the heads of animals, in hopes of chasing them away. To read the full history:
http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
Eventually, it became a secular, community-based holiday with activities for children. Today, one quarter of all candy sales, in the US, occur in October.  
I wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween...whatever your activity of choice is. See you back here on Monday!

"From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night...
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I was reminded of something this morning; something important that I had forgotten. Perhaps you've forgotten it, too. And that is change begins with us. That's why I've chosen to write about it in this blog.
We all like to complain. We complain about big things and we complain about small things. But do we ever try to work out a solution to what's "bugging" us? Not very often. There's a joke that goes. "Why are frogs happy all the time? Because we eat whatever bugs us."
That would be great, if it were true. I can say from personal experience, that it's not. I write quite often about thinking mindfully...thinking about how our actions impact others.  There's more to than just that, thoughever. And it starts with your heart. Yep. Every great action begins there. You get a feeling about something; something resonnates within you. You get a calling to make something better. That "gut" feeling you get is really is your heart speaking to you. Once you've received the message, then it moves into your head as an idea. The idea solidies and turns into a possibility. This is where it really starts to get exciting! You come up with a dazzling array of potential solutions, and the challenge becomes how to determine which ones will work and which ones won't. You talk to others, perhaps leaders in the field, or you do actual experiments, prototyping, to see how your idea translates into reality. Eventually, that idea, which has moved from the heart to the mind, now finally moves into the hand, where it becomes doing, or action. If we want to make things better, we need to shift from being complainers to being problem-solvers. And we do this by linking our heart, mind, and flippers (I mean hands) together. Open heart. Open mind. Open will.
One small change in thought can bring beautiful and, often, unexpected results. Why not try it out on something that bugging you?

Why is it that we love things that are cute? Women refer to fashionble clothing as cute. We choose "cute and cuddly" pets, like puppies and kittens, over critters like snakes and spiders? Isn't beauty supposed to be only skin-deep? And when it comes to food, well, cute always wins out. Sliders, a mini form of hamburgers and sandwhiches are far more fun to eat than than the larger versions. Mini cupcakes and muffins have taken the spotlight away from traditional sizes. And let's not forget "fun" size candybars. Perhaps we think we're saving calories by eating these smaller, cuter items but, in reality, we're consuming far more calories because we don't eat just one. Even when food isn't mini-size, we love to make it cute. We put faces on it, or make it look like something out of Architectural Digest...or a sci-fi movie. I'm no different, I guess. But I do enjoy eating bugs that look like bugs. Decorating food and making it look like something other than what it is has become a new career for many chefs...and home cooks, too. How often have you gone into a restaurant and ordered a meal only to say, "It looks too pretty to eat" when it s delivered to your table? I'm not against having an attactive plate, but I think things are getting a bit carried away...except for maybe these...and aren't they just the "cutest things you've ever seen?"

Every so often, I find myself getting too big for my own britches...so to speak. I start thinking that I can do just find on my own and that I don't really need anyone's help. But being independent comes at a cost. The world is getting smaller; we are more connected than ever. It seems as if the farthest locale is now just down the block. With the internet and all  of social media, we've become one, big happy family...or we should be. We've let war, poverty, and natural disasters divide us. What ever happened to the old saying, "All for one and one for all." Wouldn't we all be better off living as one team? The team of Humans/Plantet Earth. Just think about it. Where would you be without your mechanic the next time your car fails? From there, it's just a small step to the coffee grower in South America who raises and harvests your special morning blend. You can't live without that! We need everyone and everything on this planet. We're all here for the same reason; to grow, prosper, and raise our family in a healthy/sustainable environment. Would we get angry if our sibling did well? Probably not. We'd be happy for her success. That  success only serves to better the family. So why is it that we get all bent-out-of-shape, if the guy next door gets a promotion and a raise? Isn't he, really,just a brother from another mother? He spends that raise on a new car. That, in turn, pumps money into the economy which creates jobs which allows more people to live a better life...and so on. Let's begin by seeing that "odd" family next door as maybe not so odd. We can go from there. It's all about baby hops. By fostering a good, working relationship with everyone we meet, it helps us in small...and large ways. The benefits spread like wildfire. I know that I want to see more peace and more love in the world. And it all starts with me.
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I do love this time of year. It's so much fun to dress up in costume. The candy-coated bugs that my neighbors hand out are pretty yummy, too. Watching scary movies and being frightened by the ending...even if you've seen it many times before, is a favorite past-time of mine. One of the classics is the 1972 film, FROGS. "Today the pond...Tomorrow the world!" If you're a frog you, of course, cheer for the frogs. I think many humans do, as well, and I would hope that they might. The movie may be a little far-fetched, but the reality is that with all the harmful chemicals that are ending up in our water these days, who knows whether or not a super-race of amphibians might not actually happen! It's great fun to watch...and more than a little creepy. here are some fun facts about the making of the movie

• Many of the 500 Florida frogs and 100 South American toads used in the making of the film escaped during the production.
• The Florida Holiday Inn, used by the production crew, would not allow the deadly snakes, poisonous spiders, and black scorpions into the hotel (Gee...I wonder why?)
• Due to the film's low budget, no real birds were used in bird attack scenes. Instead, they superimposed footage of flying birds over the footage of the cast running away.
• This was the first "eco-horror" film of the 1970's. It was inspired by the box-office success of "Willard."
• Scenes of the film's star, Sam Elliot, going shirtless, helped to land him the starring role in the 176 movie, Lifeguard.
• In an interview, Fran Lebowitz called it the best bad movie she'd ever seen

And I quite concur. If you haven't seen it, you might want to watch it this Halloween. I give it 2 filppers up.

I'm eating too many bugs. I know it. I've put on weight and I can't get around as good as I did. To make matters worse, my vet has given me the dreaded diagnosis...DIET. It's so hard to do, especially now that we're rapidly approaching the holiday season. It starts next Friday with Halloween. I'll be taking my baby brother Quigley "trick or treating" and I invariably end up eating half of his candy-coated bugs. Does that make me a terrible brother? I hope not. I have a sweet tongue...what can I say. Anything that taste's good just magically sticks to it. Then there's Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Mom's a great cook, which doesn't help any. What's a poor, bug-addicted frog to do? So I've dug out my "scales of injustice" and will begin portioning out and weighing all of my food...and cutting down on my treats. It'll be tough, but I know I can do it. I'll look better and I'll feel better. I have to get a hop on it. If I don't, come New Years Day, I'll look like one of those Goliath frogs! The vet has also suggested I drive less and hop and swim more. This is sound advice for everyone...frog or human. Perhaps by the time I've gotten my weight under control, I'll have learned to control my eating on a day-to-day basis and then I won't have to feel deprived while I diet. I know it's my own fault that I'm in this mess. And the scales of injustice only feel that way; they're really a great tool to help regain my youthful shape. Don't let this happen to you. My advice, then, is to eat healthier and exercise more ...every day. Save the treats for special occaisions and limit the quantity. The holidays are just around the corner and there will be parties and lots of temptation. But we can all do it...we can be strong for each other. So if you see me eating one too many french flies...please say something. And I'll do the same for you.
​See you back here on Monday...and maybe I'll have lost a gram or two by then.

I was out for my morning hop, when I came across a lizard in distress. Now I could've just hopped on past, as many others do, but I decided to stop and see whether or not I might be able to offer aid. The lizard, it seems, was having difficulty getting actoss the road. Now I'm not the fastest frog in the world, but I knew I could help him out. So, together, we "hatched" a plan and, working in a safe and timely fashion, we both managed to get across the road despite all the cars that were whizzing by. The lizard was grateful and I felt like a million flies (dollars to you humans). It was a win-win for both of us. When you take time to help others, lots of positive things happen. You feel happier, you immune system is strengthened, you sense of purpose increases...and the people and animals that you help, have their lives enriched in countless ways. I know I write about this pretty often but, I believe, it is a subject that bears repeating. Who or what can you help today? Does the elderly lady next door need help bringing in her groceries, or the disabled vet down the street need his grass cut? Does the local animal shelter or wildlife preserve need a donation of time or supplies? Helping doesn't always have to equate money. Donations of time, or in-kind supplies, are often appreciated more. I'm so glad I stopped to help out the lizard. Besides feeling great, I've made a new friend...and that's a pretty good start to any day!

My friend the Dharma Frog always has wonderful advice, but I especially like today's advice" "When dreams turn to dust, sweep the lilly pad." I have to remind myself of this quite often. I bet you do, too. We've all had dreams that just seem to dissipate into thin air...as if they never existed. I had this happen to me recently, and it was difficult to recover from the hurt and disappointment. So I let myself "stew" for a few hours, a day even, then I pick myself up and move on.  Life is always fluid, moving, and constantly changing. The only certainty we have is that things will change. I don't know about you, but I find this rather exciting. Each day becomes an opportunity for new dreams and new challenges. Who you are today is not who you'll be tomorrow. I like knowing that I can reinvent myself as often as I want...or need. As a frog, there's not much I can do to change my physical appearance, but I can update and change my views, my beliefs, my hopes, and dreams. And that's true for everyone. When your dreams turn to dust, and eveything seems to be going wrong, remember that everything happens for a reason. Perhaps those dreams and goals were not, ultimately, your destiny. So put them aside, and dream a new dream; sweep off the lily pad and dive right in to your next big adventure!

I wrote the other day about making conscious decisions. Today, I am going to add to that by writing about mindful driving. Yesterday, I had reason to make a fairly longish trip. Rather than get stressed out about possible traffic problems I might encounter, I made the conscious decision to get up an extra 20 minutes earlier than usual. Doing this simple thing, gave me an extra 20-30 minutes drive-time to arrive at my destination, thus reducing the possibility of becoming stressed out, if traffic was bad.   It wasn't.  As I cruised along at my normal speed, the other vehicles were whizzing by me in a blurr...all rushing to get to somewhere on time. As for me, I had the opportunity to relax and enjoy the scenery. It was beautiful! Distracted driving doesn't just mean yakking on a cell phone, or sending frivolous text messages, it can also mean having your mind occupied with too many thoughts. The road I was on took me through a part of the swamp I don't normally see. The trees were a little different, and sky seemed a little bluer. It was a crisp, fall day and I really enjoyed the drive. When I arrived at my destination, I was alert, relaxed, and ready for whatever the day had to offer. My advice, then, is simple; leave earlier, drive at a slower but constant speed, be more mindful of your surroundings, and make your drive or daily commute a pleasurable experience. You'll arrive on time and feel far less stressed. And isn't that the way we all want to start...and end...our day? While you may not have the time to actually "stop and smell the roses" you do have the ability to see them and appreciate their beauty as you drive past. Time for me to get hoppin' See you tomorrow!

Choosing wisely is something we're taught at a young age. All of our early decisions are easy ones...take the flie or the worm...it's not a hard choice. But as we get older, those decisions become increasingly more difficult. Conscious choice-making can also be called good stewardship. Every big decision we make has an impact on somebody, or something,else; a co-worker, our family, our community, the environment, or the world. Do you always think about the  possible consequences of your actions before you act? I know I don't. Let's learn to ask ourselves this question, "Is the decision I'm making going to be good for me and for those around me, not causing harm to anyone or anything?" The answer should always guide your decision. When we care for the things we have, and for the people around us, our good decisions will repay us in kind. The bible, and many other religious texts, tell us, "As you sew, so shall you reap." Karma, as I like to call it, is always a great thing to consider when making any decision...large or small. Try giving each decision a little extra thought, starting today. There are very, very few decisions that require immediate snap decision. So take a few minutes, longer if necessary, and give all your decisions careful thought. Even if the decision is whether or not to eat that last donut just before bed...take a few minutes and think about the consequences of your actions. Sure the donut will taste good now but, in the long run, will you still be happy with your decison when your pants don't fit tomorrow? Probably not. Making conscious choices does take a little longer, but the delay can have a profound impact on your life and will immeasurably improve the lives of those you love, the health of the planet, and may even impact someone you've never met.  And that's pretty cool.