Forgiveness and Perseverance

Ok, first off, lousy blogger that I am, I'd like to point out that I did actually blog in December... so it hasn't actually been since October.  Ok, now that that's cleared up, and you can forgive me for being blogging-impaired, we can move on to how forgiveness and persistence relate to each other and to Georgics.

We had some great quotes we talked about this week.  What were your favorites?  I know some of you took the ones you liked best.  Here are a few that really touched me:

"As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison."  --Nelson Mandela

"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars.  You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."  --C.S. Lewis

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."  --Lewis B. Smeades

"Forgiveness doesn't diminish justice; it just entrusts it to God."  --Max Lucado

"Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."  --Buddha

"A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but its persistence."

"I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."  --Steve Jobs

"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance."  --Samuel Johnson

"Discipline is that characteristic which will give you the strength to avoid giving up what you want most in life for something you think you want now."  --Richard G. Scott

Ok, so what does all that have to do with Georgics?  How do we go on when our garden fails?  ...when the worms or bees or chickens all die?  ...when the plan we had to build something wonderful and lasting falls apart?  Do we get angry and give up?  Do we reevaluate, get to work and build something better?  Do we study about blight, or cutworms, or companion planting and then replant?  Do we make a plan and stick to it, forgiving ourselves for our mistakes, the weather for a lousy growing season and our kids who forgot to close the chicken coop that night that the raccoons came?  Hopefully these questions will help you think about things beyond just your current small garden plan!

So for homework... 

• If you haven't turned in a paper on Real Estate Ownership, that's (past) due.  And this week, your paper on Forgiveness and Perseverance is also due.  
• Have you started on Keeper of the Bees?  PLEASE DO IT NOW! or you won't get it finished.  
• Connections Journal (seriously, it doesn't need to be a nail pulling event to do this).
• Garden project
• Plan for the Farmers Market on May 21st.  This week I'll have a sign up so you can let us know what you plan to sell.  Remember you get to keep all the proceeds from whatever you sell.  There is a great list of ideas in your binder, but you're welcome to come up with something else you think will do well... maybe visit your local farmer's market again to get ideas.
• Start working on  your presentation.  Thanks Noah for yours on Mason Bees!

That's all for now.  See you all Thursday!