The Tree House

“In order to reach your goals, you will have to climb a long way and be frightened. But take it a step at a time”


Those were the words a kind uncle uttered one day, as his young niece expressed her fear of climbing the ladder leading to the tree house he had built. Their home was a two-story Victorian with a steep pitched roof - the tree house was in an old oak tree, and it was higher than the roof top of the Victorian house. To the little girl who stood at the bottom of the tree, the tree house seemed to float above the clouds, and she was apprehensive about going up. Despite her fears, her uncle gently nudged her to start climbing.

Many years later, as she worked her way through college, and struggled to juggle jobs and school work, the girl always remembered that day, and thoughts of the tree house propelled her forward toward achieving greater heights.
Even if the heights we are attempting to reach are not unthinkable ones, it is quite common to be frightened when we contemplate our goals. Just like the tree house, our dreams seem exceedingly distant and it is easy to forget that each step gets us closer to destination.

We may not see the results right away, and that’s usually discouraging. Once a goal is set, faith must carry us the rest of the way. We can’t look down, or else we will fall. We can only go forward, one step at a time, knowing that we WILL get to the tree house if we keep up our efforts.

Growing up, I had a friend who had weight problems. Periodically, she would get motivated to try a new diet, but after following it for a week or two, she would give up. When I asked why she didn’t stick with the regimen, she always replied that she wasn’t losing any weight anyway. In reality, it was not true. Even after a week, one could tell that something was slightly changing, but it would have taken several weeks to see noticeable results. The change was not dramatic enough to keep her committed to her goal.

A few years ago, I ran into her while visiting my parents, and saw that she had lost an amazing amount of weight. When I asked her what had finally worked, she said: “I just decided to stick with the diet, regardless of the immediate lack of reward.” Although she could not see tangible results, she had decided to have faith and continue – the pounds began to melt off, and a new woman, smiling and confident, was born.

Fear of failure is probably the greatest deterrent of going far. We are afraid of not making it, so we don’t even try. Once that fear is conquered, and faith takes over, the worst is done.

The little girl of the story had a special place in the heart for the uncle that encouraged her to climb the tree house and she will always know that when she is scared of anything, she can think of that beautiful, sunny day. I am certain her uncle, who recently passed away, is smiling down at her from the top of the tree house, proud of all she has conquered. In fact, I think he is doing that right now.

Today's Blog for Hope

(Please note that every Saturday my blog tends to focus on my local GOLO community blog to help others in our community, found at the Raleigh-area GOLO site as a regular feature called "Blog for Hope")

For my generation, the hardship we are living today is the sad incarnation of all the stories we heard our parents and grandparents tell when they shared stories of their youth. We never thought we would experience anything similar, and probably rolled our eyes in desperation when they told us about their sacrifices over and over again. Life couldn’t be that hard, we surely thought, they are just blowing it up for shock effect. Today we are getting a taste of extreme financial hardship within our own realities, and suddenly we know our parents weren’t joking after all.

Communities have felt the need to reach out internally and create a web of neighborly support, while many businesses have silently closed their doors after years of service. Home owners are desperate to sell their houses, but can’t afford the cost of giving their home a little facelift which will make it stand out in the overly saturated market.

Jeff Harless Painting has been able, so far, to hold its own, although it could use a little boost of business. Located in Spring Hope NC, this venture is family owned and operated, and hung its first shingle in 1999. They offer interior and exterior painting for both residential and commercial. They also provide small home repairs, lying of vinyl flooring, cabinet refinishing, staining, deck repair and construction, pressure washing, installation of gutters, replacement of damaged siding on homes and a variety of other services.

Why, you will ask, do I find this company particularly attractive?

Quoting the words of the owner: “We are at this time reducing our prices due to the economy. I feel sure that if a prospective customer has a bid for painting or repair from a reputable company we can beat their prices as to where the customer will save a noticeable amount. However, these times call for us to, in some cases, be willing to negotiate a price based on the need and financial situation of the customer. We match the paint type based on the need of the customer. Customer satisfaction is the best advertisement we have. We thrive for all customers to be completely satisfied upon completion of the job. We always clean our job sites to be at or near the condition before beginning the job. We have a lengthy list of references. 100% of our jobs for the past five years have been because our customers have referred us to others.”

Jeff Harless Painting is a Christian-owned activity, and it is greatly praised by customers for their high business ethics, integrity and honesty.

If anyone is interested in their services, they can be reached at 252-478-4779.

It is time for our community to take care of its own. Why not start by taking care of the repairs we need at a price we can afford?

Links of Light

“We can't all like everyone all the time. But we can work harder at tolerance, compassion, empathy, generosity, and a genuine desire to recognize that we are all in this together.” ~Nicsautoservice


I can honestly say that I like just about everyone I run into – not necessarily because I agree with their views or ways of life, but rather because I have come to understand we are all equally important and all share a common denominator: As Wayne Dyer so perfectly phrased it, we are all spiritual beings on an earthly trip.

We all approach life differently. We look at things through the filters of socio-cultural structures and personal upbringing, and not one brain is wired exactly like another. Ultimately, we are the product of two factors: personality and environment. When it comes to human beings, Nature plus Nurture sets the tone of who we are more than Nature vs. Nurture. We are separated by distance, genes, cultural imprints, language, political and religious affiliations, yet our basic makeup is the same for all.

Let’s look at the concept of light for a moment - light can be natural or artificial. Within those two major distinctions, are different categories. Natural light can be produced by the sun, the moon, or fire. Artificial light has even more sub-categories – lightbulbs, for example, can be of different shapes, intensity and color. Specific types of light are used for different purposes, and are adapted to fit individual taste and need, but they are ultimately all sources of light produced by raw energy.

Our light quotient is what makes us all different yet alike. Some of us shine brighter than others, some are crafted in different shapes and colors, some are meant to be dimmer and more subdued, and some put out psychedelic flashes of light for shock value, but aside from our output and physical appearance we are all superficially different manifestations of the same core of light.

Even more eye-opening is the concept that we are indeed all pieces of the same puzzle, regardless of the position we hold within the design. We might be a corner piece, a frame piece or an inside piece, but each of us is unique and irreplaceable in the greater scheme of things. Even those we don’t like or get along with; those we judge and accuse; those we deem inferior or useless. When all is said and done, and the earthly illusion of superiority and inferiority is shed, we all feel, laugh, hurt, love and cry; we are all vulnerable and prone to being scared when no one is watching; we all smile when something good happens.

Regardless of what masks we wear, or what float we parade on, we are all part of the same Carnival.