Funny how things work out….. I was thinking of this particular email just this week to add it to a post and I searched high and low in both of my computers at home and at work to no avail…. This morning a friend just happened to forward it to me without even knowing I had been looking for it…

The Great Spirit works in mysterious ways so I am posting this … It is one that someone needs to read, so whoever you are, hope this has the impact that was intended.

 

We all know or knew someone like this and perhaps we thought nothing of it at the time but read this story…. I don’t know how it cannot have an effect on you and touch your heart…

 

 

 

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class

was walking home from school.

 

His name was Kyle.

 

It looked like he was carrying all of his books.

 

I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a

Friday?

 

He must really be a nerd."

 

I had quite a weekend planned  with parties and a football game with my

friends tomorrow afternoon, so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

 

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

 

They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him

so he landed in the dirt.

 

His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet

from him.

 

He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes

 

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled

around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

 

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. "

 

They really should get lives.

 

" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

 

There was a big smile on his face.

 

It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

 

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.

 

As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen

him before.

 

He said he had gone to private school before now.

 

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before

 

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.

 

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

 

I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said

yes.

 

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked

him, and my friends thought the same of him.

 

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books

again.

 

I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious

muscles with this pile of books everyday!

 

" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

 

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends

 

When we were seniors, we began to think about college.

 

Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke.

 

I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a

problem.

 

He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football

scholarship.

 

Kyle was valedictorian of our class.

 

I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

 

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

 

I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak

 

Graduation day, I saw Kyle.

 

He looked great.

 

He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

 

He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

 

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

 

Boy, sometimes I was jealous.

 

 Today was one of those days.

 

 I could see that he was nervous about his speech.

 

 So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

 

 He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and

smiled.

 

 " Thanks," he said.

 

 As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began

 

 "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those

tough years.

 

 Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly

your friends...

 

 I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best

gift you can give them.

 

 I am going to tell you a story."

 

 I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the

first day we met.

 

 He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

 

 He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have

to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.

 

 He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

 

 "Thankfully, I was saved.

 

 My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

 

 I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told

us all about his weakest moment.

 

 I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

 

 Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

 

 Never underestimate the power of your actions.

 

 With one small gesture you can change a person's life.

 

 For better or for worse.

 

 God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.

 

 Look for God in others.

 

 You now have two choices, you can:

 

 Take action and do something about it and reach out a hand to someone who needs it

 or you can act like it didn't touch your heart at all and continue doing things the same way.

 

 

 "Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble

 remembering how to fly."

 

 There is no beginning or end… Yesterday is history.

 

 Tomorrow is mystery.

 

 Today is a gift.

 

 It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care.

 

 

 

Love,

PolarB ;)

 

Hello Bloggers!

 

I heard a song on the radio last night that I have heard a million times before, however the words caught my attention and I wondered why I had never really listened to them before….they struck a cord with me so I thought I would share them with you. It’s a song by Natasha Bedingfield called “Unwritten”. Some of the words are:

 

Reaching for something in the distance

So close you can almost taste it

Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

 

How cool is that? You ever feel like that? Reaching and yearning for something so close you can taste it? How often do you release your inhibitions? When is the last time you felt the rain on your skin? Not just running through the rain to get out of it but to stand there in the summer rain and let it wash over you like a cleansing, looking upward letting the rain touch your face and soak you in it’s goodness? You may have done that as a kid, but have you ever done it now as an adult? How many times did you have words on your lips that you were afraid to speak because you thought it may make you look stupid, or you held back the words because you were afraid to speak what you were feeling or what your words would make others think of you? Drench yourself in words unspoken….feel your feelings and speak your truth…. Do you live your life with arms wide open embracing it and all life has to offer you or do you close yourself off to the world and others? If so, what is holding you back? What are your fears? What is the worst thing that could happen?  What if today you started with a clean slate? Today is where your book begins… the rest is still unwritten…. You have the choice of how you want your life to be and honey life is way too short to go through it unhappy, so why not begin to do the things that give you joy and peace…maybe that requires you to set new boundaries with the people in your life and or your friends, or maybe everything is great and you wouldn’t change a thing… so what can you do to be more loving and make a difference in somebody else’s life? Would it make a difference if you knew you only had a month to live? Would you change anything or want to do something before you die? So what is stopping you from doing that right now? Does it really make a difference when you are going to leave this life because life is short as it is, so why not do the things you want to do right now? Have you told the people in your life how you felt about them and how much they mean to you? Is there someone toxic in your life that brings you strife? Why are you still holding onto that relationship? Live your life with arms wide open….. The rest is still unwritten….

 

As you can see, the song was pretty thought provoking and I love when things affect me like that because it opens up new learnings and new thought processes….

 

So…. Did I provoke some thoughts in you?

 

Have a great day my friends and embrace all that life has to offer you each day…

 

Love,

PolarB ;)

Well Peeps... It's time for the end of the photo journey and I hope you have enjoyed coming along with me and Lovie.... I know we enjoyed having ya too!

This was a place that was right by our campground up the hill... Of course I had to go in and check it out... I bet you can guess why....



We took one more little trip up into the mountains to one of my favorite places, however we got into a huge storm so I was not able to get many pictures but I was trying a new technique out and ran into another fellow photographer who was showing me some of his lens filters which I love to use too... He let me try a couple out and of course I am going to get one now.... Here are a couple pictures with the filter.



and one without it.... I just love the effects, don't you?



We spotted this overlook that showed us all the chalets and cabins up in the hills overlooking the city of Gatlinburg... I've stayed in a few of those cabins myself and it is beautiful....



So we headed back to the cabin to rest our weary bones and watch the sunset from the deck.... I loved the clouds and had to get a shot of them...



So there ya have it.... I hope you enjoyed the trip.... if you've never been there, go check it out for yourselves... It's a great little vacation spot with so much to do, whether you like shopping til you drop or like the peaceful calm retreat that the mountains provide... you will enjoy it either way.. I know we did and will return many many times again... I have been going there since I was a kid and Lovie and I go at least twice a year and I will continue to go there because it feels like home....

Have a great day peeps...

Love to you all from your big ole bear.....


PolarB ;)

Hey Peeps! Are you ready for another adventure?

Lovie and I heard there was an auto trail that we had never taken before so we decided to check it out.... Come on... let's go see what we can find!



Wow that is a cool tunnel and I think it is going to take us into another world....



Let's see where the road leads...



This is one of the original settlers in the area... The old Ogle homestead.... wow can you imagine living here in this beauty back then with all the peacefulness and quiet?

Let's take a walk and see what else we can find.





Gosh! I have never seen a place that was so bright and green with all this neat moss... It's almost magical....









Wow... this waterfall just coming down the rocks is pretty cool... I think I will try to climb up and get a closer look! But gotta watch out for bears because I know they are in the area!



Here is a little farmstead that somebody just left... that is a great old truck... I can imagine it going along this little one way road down the mountain and going to get supplies...

Wow.... we are almost towards the end and that was a great place to visit... I think I will have to return here again and again...

I think we will drive up into the mountains tomorrow to one of my favorite places.... see ya soon and hope you'll continue with us on our journey...

Love yas!
PolarB ;)

Okay Peeps!

After much uploading downloading and downsizing and resizing all these pics.... I FINALLY was able to get a bunch of pictures into the gallery for your viewing pleasure.... Soooooooooooooooo drum roll please!

Let me take you on a little journey my friends!

Let's start out at the cabin where we settled in quite nicely...



This was our little humble abode for the time we were there... We had campfires at night right in the back of the cabin.. we also sat under the shade trees and watched the little squirrels as they delighted us with their antics... Two little squirrely lovebirds and I found their nest and watched them cuddle and play then go settle in for the night.







You better believe Sophie kitty was keeping her eye out for the squirrels... Lucky she was on her leash or she would have went right after them... She enjoyed the view too fom our high abode that overlooked the campground...





We decided to drive into Cades Cove and check out the mountain views and the wildlife.... What pretty sites we saw!







Shhhhhh!!! I spotted a deer and walked into the woods a bit to get a better shot of the beautiful gal.... she let me get within 20 feet of her as long as I was gentle and slow. But she always had her eye on me...



Lots of people rode their bikes through the Cove and it made for a few good shots... on down the road was a village that had all kinds of old cabins and mills and interesting things... Come on! Let's go see!















Whew! I am a bit tired....let's take a rest by this little trail and take in the scenery!



Okay.... Well.... that was really cool and I got lots of good shots but my knees are a aching so I think we will head back to the cabin now for a nice warm bonfire.... Let's stop a bite to eat then settle in for the night... we'll go on another adventure tomorrow cause there's a really cool place I want to visit!

Hope you'll come along with me and Lovie as we journey along!

Love yas!
PolarB ;)