About

Hi There! Thank you for taking the time to read, and hopefully, follow and support my blog.

Why this blog?

My name is Jamie.  I am an educator, avid traveler, and recent discoverer of yoga

Hopefully, the variety of posts, quotes, quick quips, poetry and visuals will inspire you to be more aware of and enjoy the simple pleasures of life and everyday occurrences.

Why the crazy name?

My husband and I were fortunate enough to travel to Kenya for a photo safari; an awe-inspiring journey.  We saw our first wild zebras within the initial ten minutes of the safari. Zebras everywhere! White and black. Black and white. Distinctive against the bland, beige savannah. A wildly, wonderful day. Soon, it was day two of our safari. More zany zebras. But also, monkeys, elephants and water buffalos. Day three brought us the lions. Not just lions, but close-up, nearly side -by side- lions. (We were in the jeep, of course!) A cheetah peering out from under a bush and then blazing across the baking savannah was the climax of day four. Oh, and the zippy zebras? Sadly, we had become so accustomed to seeing the zebras, that we no longer noticed them. We realized that we had been driving by zebras with nary a notice. From then on we vowed to observe and savor it all-to enjoy the moment. I hope some of my posts remind you to be in the moment.

The Why

Each day when we were on the safari, a lovely lunch was provided. The lunch included items such as a hard-boiled egg, a piece of fried chicken, a juice box, an apple, a bag of chips and a package of cookies. A delightful lunch that we greatly enjoyed-the first day. This was too much food for most of us to eat at one meal. We asked our guide, Joseph, what we should do with the uneaten food. Joseph asked us to place our lunchboxes at the front of the jeep. Off we went! To where? We soon found out. We went to visit a Masai village to give our left-over food to the children. When we arrived in the village, the children spied the bus and came running, with their hands out. Most of us were humbled. We, the well-fed Canadians, got to choose and eat what we wanted from our lunch and then we gave our leftovers to the children. This did not happen again. For the remainder of the week, our whole lunch went to the children.

Margaret Mead stated, “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For indeed, that’s all who ever have.” I may not change the world but I vowed that week to not take my surroundings and good fortune for granted. I hope that as I travel through life and the world, that I will focus on the good, take time to savor the moment, and find  a way to to bring joy or assistance to at least one person.

Due to life circumstances, it has taken me a while to get on this, but this is finally my first footstep.

How Can You Help?

Pay it forward. Help however you can. Share your smiles, be kind to a stranger, thank a worker or raise a little bit of money to donate to a worthy cause.  In the meantime, as you go about your daily life, please keep The Zebras in mind if you would like to share a kindness or a mindful moment  you saw or experienced.