Joe: “In the Land of Negativity”. You could almost say there is a land of negativity. In this land people set out to be kind-hearted and caring. They love their loved ones and want the best for them. But they have picked up some habits that they think are very good but have a down side to them.”

“So let us leave the Land of Negativity and come into the Land of Nurturing.“

“In the Bible you have the story of the Hebrews being rescued from the slavery of Egypt. After they leave Egypt they wonder in the desert for 40 years.”

“There they meet up with scorpions and snakes, the sun beat down on them and there is little food or water. But especially the Israelites complain most of the time as they plod along. The long years in the desert was a time of negativity. It was definitely a Land of Negativity.”

“But at last they come to the Jordan River and on the other side is the Promised Land. Their 40 years of negativity are ended.“

“The way it’s worded in the Bible is very dramatic: “And at last there came a morning on the plains of Moab and Moses cried out, “Rise up O Israel, you are to cross over Jordan this day.” “And Joshua led the hosts over Jordan”.

“This Promised Land on the other side of the Jordan is often referred to as “The Land of milk and honey”. I find this remarkable because the symbol of nurturing is Milk. (A mother nurtures her baby with milk.) And what is the opposite of the vinegar of negativity? Honey. (My brother during WWII served under General Vinegar Joe. Look him up.) So if you’re going to leave the Land of Negativity behind and start a life of nurturing you are going to cross over the Jordan into the Land of Milk and Honey. How many want to cross over?”

“Giving up your negative ways and adopting more nurturing ones… if you don’t feel like doing this for yourself do it for your children. You are your children’s family of origin… don’t pass any more negativity down. But do it for yourself, too, so that when you get old your grandchildren will love to visit you.”

“So rise up, O people, you are to cross over Jordan this day!”

Ricky passes out Milk and Honey candy:

“Remember Billie Joel’s song “She’s Got a Way”? (Merrilee Rush recorded a version of this song called “He’s got a way.”) Let’s listen to it now as we cross the Jordan:

“She’s got a light around her, ooh And everywhere she goes/ A million dreams of love surround her/ Everywhere.” So you see, we’re back where we started: Getting familiar with our loved one’s dreams: “I have spread my dreams under your feet… Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” W.B. Yeats. And “May this be a place of discovery Where the possibilities that sleep In the clay of your soul… Can emerge.” John O’Donahue. And the subject in “The Sound of Silence” gets to sing his/her song.” Repeat: “The subject in the “The Sound of Silence” gets to sing her/his song! “And in the naked light, I saw/ Ten thousand people, maybe more/ People talking without speaking/ People hearing without listening/ People writing songs that voices never shared” Now they can share them!

Joe: “It’s been very nice working with you all. I thank all who took part in this website. Thanks to Lori Arsenault who keeps helping me with website challenges. Thanks to Marriage Encounter Community who taught me the vital importance of conversations in relationships. Good luck to you all as you settle down in the Land of Milk and Honey. Have fun! Be adventurous! Discover all the precious jewels in all the heads around you. If you have some good results I would love to hear from you: mckennaj229@gmail.com.

“Remember our buddy Gainsborough asked “Do you really mean there are people who are nurturing?”

Joe: “Yes, there are. And one of them was part of my family. All our relatives agree. She was my Aunt Alice. She wasn’t up tight. She was a lot of fun. She disobeyed stupid rules. She could laugh at the funny ways of people from another culture. And she had an extraordinary way of reaching out to people and taking delight in your thoughts. She was the very definition of the nurturing person. She wasn’t married and had no children but she showed that nevertheless you can affect posterity. And so I am dedicating this website to her.“

Joe: “And, oh yes, Gainsborough, did you get anything useful in this website? Did you cross the Jordan?”

Gainsborough:

The End.

This website needs to be read twice in order to pull its message together.

Scene 16: “Enthusiasm”

I’m including a whole new scene here. I ‘m identifying it as “enthusiasm”. Some people are endowed with it some not so much. It kind of depends on how you were brought up. But it can be learned… with a little practice. If it’s not natural to you, you my find it a bit awkward at first. But keep at it and in no time you will have mastered it.

What am I talking about? When someone tells you something how do you react? People who are fun to be around get all enthused about it. Like when you get a Christmas present and you show enthusiasm when you open it. You may be faking it… a bit… but it makes the person who gave it to you happy. When you express enthusiasm when they tell you something all kinds of happiness results. Try it. At first it might be awkward but you’ll get better at it.

Presented by Bonnie Productions