September 2022 Newsletter Reprint – A Quiet Reflection
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Helloooooooooo and welcome back to my camo jeep.
So good to have you spend a minute or two with me and our imaginations.
The camo jeep could double as a magic carpet. We won’t see rooftops, but we’ll get a birds-eye-view of nature’s gift – animals in their own environment.
Thank you for this stunning photograph, @beverlyjoubert.
Over 30 years, filmmakers and Nat Geo Explorers at Large Beverly and Dereck Joubert have dedicated their lives to halting the decline of big cats in the wild. Thanks to conservation efforts like the Jouberts’, big cat populations have boomed.
Our deepest thanks, Jouberts’!
And as we watch these leopards, I’ll quietly share.
I thought of you today.
I was scrolling through scores and scores of newsletters and alerts and pictures and podcasts I’ve signed up for but have no time to open, as much as I’d love to. When I said “Yes” to these updates and insights I was high on excitement but alas, I don’t get to read all I long to because days fly away without my permission. Sadly, I only get to 2% of my ‘Can’t-Live-Withouts.’
Which is exactly why I thought of you.
How fortunate I am that you open my newsletters.
Seriously. By doing so, you’re giving me the gift of your time—the biggest sacrifice any of us can make for another. Your time is equally scarce, fleeting and elusive… and yet, you do me such an honor.
Writer Elizabeth Andrew once said something very profound. I promise to mess it up just a wee bit to show you what YOU mean to me: Readers do not necessarily have the time they just have the heart.
I thank you truly, for your heart.
UNTAMED!
Since my series Flights of The Heart is still a Work in Progress, this share belongs in ‘Untamed’. I believe I will cut this chapter, but it’s exclusively yours to read before I hit the delete button.
The Beggar and The Ballerina (working title):
In writing this chapter I only found one line that was worth keeping. That’s how it goes for an author sometimes. And here it is:
My mother and silence were seldom in the same room….
I realized I am much like this fictitious mother I describe.
Silence scares me. I feel a desperate need to fill a silence amongst strangers and even friends. So, with that in mind, I thought we might take a (somewhat) quiet safari today, as we watch the awesome animals in their natural habitat and consider the power of silence.
UNEXPECTED!
Have you ever thought about quiet animals? I hadn’t till now. Here they are:
Giraffes, Sloths, Turtles, Lizards, Snakes, Crabs, Sharks, Octopuses, Rabbits, Goldfish, Snails, Worms and Jellyfish.
There’s no braying or neighing or barking or shrieking from this bunch. There is no need. In their silence, they have found their own powers.
Consider what silence can do for us humans.
1. It stimulates brain growth. “In 2013, a study into brain structure and function found that a minimum of two hours of silence could result in the creation of new brain cells linked to learning and recall.” Imke Kirste, a biologist at Duke University
2. It relieves stress. Noise elevates our levels of cortisol and adrenaline, which lead to higher stress levels.
3. It relaxes us. Silence lowers our blood pressure and increases blood flow to the brain.
4. It enhances sleep and decreases insomnia by helping us to “wind down.”
5. It lowers heart disease and tinnitus. World Health Organization calls noise pollution the modern plague responsible for an increase in heart disease and tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
6. It increases awareness and personal reflection by allowing us the needed space to listen to our inner voice like monks do or those who meditate.
7. It increases focus. Focus is increased in quiet and silent environments.
8. It increases our creativity. Silence restores our cognitive resources. “The brain’s default mode lets us think deeply and creatively outside of the box.”
9. It gives you space to meet yourself. Even in the silence, when face-to-face with your own scary thoughts, you can begin to see here you need to grow and develop.
UNFORGETTABLE!
And this amazing story, I bring you courtesy of Nice News.
(It’s not quite silence, but it sure is UNFORGETTABLE!)
After a devastating fire tore through the 859-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2019, the sounds of its 10 bronze bells ceased to echo through the city.
Experimental sound artist Bill Fontana, set out to share the sound of the cathedral’s bells again, not by ringing them, but by recording the imperceptible sounds their vibrating metal creates when not in motion. He then mixed those pitches together, adjusting the levels to be audible to human ears.
“It’s a physical fact that these bells are actually vibrating all the time, it’s like a spirit that’s living inside of Notre Dame.” Fontana said. “The noise of construction in the cathedral, a musician’s melody from the street below, birds singing in the bell tower…the personality changes with the weather and the time of day. It’s the voice, the soul, the breath of the bell.”
And so, friends, I leave you with my gracious thanks for opening my email and helping me fuel the need to find more silence in my world. I hope our discovery helps you in some small way.
Until we share again, I wish you peaceful silence on your own journey.
Cheers Cheers!
Love,
Jill
P.S.I would never leave you without new and exciting book recommendations.
Pauline Baird Jones created these DELIGHTFUL characters and their journals. AWESOME gifts for the holidays.
And this from the inimitable Ms. Jones for your reading pleasure.
Do yourselves a favor and just type ‘S.E. SMITH’ into Amazon’s search bar…it will blow your mind! Susan S.E. Smith is a master storyteller and a NY Times and USA Today Best-Selling Author in multiple genres and languages. Susan’s books resonate the world over because her heart-compass marries with her pen’s commitment. She says: “The true magic of a story is one that gives you the power to believe that you are in control of your destiny.” ~ S.E. Smith.
I adored the first in her Girls from the Street Series: Something About Aimee. True to Ms. Smith’s form, it pushed ALL the right buttons and left me…well, breathless.
Her second in the series is now available and I can’t wait to feast my eyes on her magic words, and let her snatch (No Suck :o) me into her rich, romantic worlds.
Ahhhh, blissful escape!
Kerry Evelyn knows how to get her conflicting, interesting, complex characters to worm – or rather—WARM their way into your heart. And they stay there, for the longest time. That, my friends, is the mark of a brilliant author. Here is one of my very favorites from Kerry Evelyn:
Winnie Winkle makes me giggle. I can’t help it. She has such an incredible way with words. Her characters are so zany and irrepressible and loveable and relatable. READ Winnie Winkle today and get lost in their vividly-colored hijinks. Here’s Winnie Winkle’s latest:
Love space romances? Love Pets?
LOVE PETS IN SPACE!
This anthology is a collection of your favorite sci-fi authors including KYNDRA HATCH & CANDACE COLT! Hurry and get out-of-this-world proof that pets are more than just animals, they’re family!
USA Today Best Selling Author, Cassandra Chandler, is blazing a trail through the atmosphere with her Scifi Alien Warrior Romances. They’re tender, titillating and kickass! Start with Delicious Dorn below, or book 1 from her stand-alone, out-of-this-world Cygnian Series!
