Red Brazilian Jasmine (Mandevilla)!

This is a picture of Red Brazilian Jasmine (Mandevilla) ~~~YET without flowers ~~~from my Happy Garden.

About 6 weeks ago, I stopped by a retail store to buy some tools and was passing up a clearance rack~~~saw this plant~~~all dried up and was ready to die.

She was very sad looking, and I felt like she said with her saddened face, "Take me home with you".

I had so many plants already, and I did not have any plan to buy additional pots. I decided not to buy anymore~~~I came to my car~~~I turned on my car.

But, I felt so dragged the way this poor plant appeared to me~~~her saddened face.

~~~I turned off my car~~~I went to the store and checked the price to see if this was reasonable to buy. I got shocked!

The original price was $24.99, but marked down several times~~~AND final price was just $1. I could not believe my eyes because I know this plant is not so cheap.

Tada~~~I got it for $1.

I took her to my Happy Garden!

I gave her new home~~~bigger pot~~~with a full of LOVE compost soil I made ~~~I have been adding my LOVE water and Smile blessings to the plant.

Now, LOOK how healthy she is! Soon, she will be expecting in full blossoms!

Give Chance To Others~~~Give Peace a Chance ~~~Give Love a Chance ~~~Give Unity a Chance ~~~Everyone Deserves a Second Chance~~~LOVE and Unity!

From Happy YoonOk ~~~From Happy Garden!

Why I planted Red Okra?

The ultimate and the highest LIFE goal is LOVE and Unity, but there are many paths to reach!

We all need to learn to be open minded to reach the ultimate and the highest LIFE goal~~~LOVE and Unity!!
This is my Okra baby growing in Happy Garden~~~my backyard~~~started from seeds!

She is a new addition for this year~~~I never planted Okra before~~I am very excited about this new family.


I had been wanting to adopt babies before I started gardening!

After gardening, I have changed my mind.

Now, I have decided to adopt a couple of new plants every year because they are my family!



The reason of planting Okra was I had one BAD Okra soup experience~~~long~~~long time ago. So, I stuck up with that slimy, sticky, and BAD Okra soup experience and have biased opinions on Okra, "Okra =BAD". And, I closed all the door to Okra!



Late last year, I was involved in a discussion group about my post on what to plant on gardening. One lady told me she is planning to grow Okra and said how delicious Okra is~~~I told her my BAD Okra soup experience~~~She said I should try yummy and delicious fried Okra~~~ another lady suggest I should try the Awesome Southern-Style Okra Soup.



During our discussion, I was thinking~~~why I should have stuck with one BAD experience and closed all the door to Okra?~~~I should explore and exhaust all possibilities~~~further, I should be open-minded on People, Science, Education, Politics, Life, the Universe, and Everything. This is because we all work together to reach the ultimate and the highest LIFE goal~~~LOVE and Unity!



I just need to enjoy my ride on exploring all the possibilities and and staying open!

Always Enjoy The Ride! Be open minded!

Lessons from growing Okra!

Thank you, Okra!

Thank you, friends!

Do not follow the crowd, but follow the continuation to Circle!

On Raining Sat, I would like to share one of my favorite photos that I took at my Happy Garden! This photo shows Me and tells Me many life lessons!

Yesterday, I was driving to my friend's house and realized that I drove at 70 miles per hour~~~at the 55 mph speed limit zone on a highway.

I drove faster because I was following other car...s~~~they were faster and faster~~~I was just following the crowd while ignoring all the traffic signs.



When I was aware of the 55 mph speed limit zone, I slowed down to meet 55 mph!



Suddenly, I realized that Life is like driving a car.



We know how to drive~~~We know what to do~~~We know how to follow the traffic signs~~~We know! But we tend to follow the crowd~~~or we tend to look only rear mirror!



In our life, we have signs everywhere: Four directions ~~~Cyclic rotation of the Earth and Moon~~~Gravity of the Sun ~~~ Gravitational Interactions of our universe ~~~ and Four seasons!

Winter~~~Spring~~~ Summer~~~and Fall!

With the process of Rest, Birth, Growth, and Harvest.



Those are the signs we need to follow~~~that is the laws of nature~~~that is the laws of Universe! ~~~that is the circle of life!

There is NO real beginning and NO real end, but only the continuation of life~~~that is the one perfect circle by evolving some million and million years.



Death is not the real end, but resting time for Continuity of new birth.

Birth is not the real begining, but starting time for Continuity to follow the circle of life~~~Continuation~~~.



Do not follow the crowd, but follow the continuation to Circle~~~follow the natural clock from the Mothe Earth!



Life lessons learned from driving ~~~from a butterfly ~~~from a flower!

~~~from Happy Garden!

Heal the Mother Earth!

I hear from so many people who say~~~ we need to heal the earth!


So many people say~~~ we need to Save the earth!

I see so many people who stand up for Oil Spill and all others.



But, I also see so many people who have the preference of having dream of lush yard full of green grass of home ~~~perfect green lawns. This preference has turned into using more lawn- chemical, such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers and requires increasing negative attitude against dandelions or clover. Some consider dandelions as little yellow devils~~~enemy~~~WEED!

Some of my American friends and neighbors are using ~~~ weed killer/fertilizer by spraying to kill dandelions ~~~ buying a specialized tool called “A Dandelion Digger”. Others are poaching dandelion by pouring boiling water over dandelion plants~~~burning dandelions by using weed burner torch~~~ pickling dandelion by pouring 5-percent concentration of vinegar against dandelions and other perennial weeds.   There are thousand tips about getting rid of dandelions in order to have a perfect green grass lawn.


Dream of perfect green grass lawns are not safe for people~~~ not safe for pets, not safe for wild living creatures. Lawn chemicals including pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers poison our food, water, land and air artificially~~~unnecessary.
 
Are you saving the Mother Earth in your home?


This is the TIME to heal the Mother Earth starting from our home~~~our yard!

Like Dandelion Flowers and their Spirits, we all need to learn to bloom in any environment, focusing on courage and being resilient~~~despite of being in adverse conditions.

From the granddaughter of dandelion spirit!

TWO Most Cruel and Inhumane Historical Events!

TWO Most Cruel and Inhumane Historical Events!

Author: YoonOk Kim

Children's Crusade and Comfort Women are TWO most cruel and Inhumane historical events I can think of!!

World History was not my cup of tea until I had my near-fatal brain aneurysm rupture in 2007. After more than one month of hospitalization in both the critical care unit (CCU) and the intensive care unit (ICU), I came home. But, I was very weak with critical setbacks. When I felt I had NO hope~~~NO life ~~~NO tomorrow, my backyard welcomed me to start new life~~~a new chapter~~~a new-found appreciation for life.

With my feet and my two hands, like roots, connecting with the warmth of the mother soil, I dug up the soil to plant the seeds of love and healing and peace. In the same way I dug up in my garden, I dug up the story of my mother and my grandmother while the history of my birth land, Korea, lingers in the background.

Through the digging, I have realized that my family story is a part of history~~~not separate from it. This led me to expand my study to World History to look for underlying causes. I have looked deeper and deeper to find the root of problems in a logical way. Persistently searching for underlying causes, I had to go all the way to Greek and Roman besides Eastern history from the current. This is how I start studying World History to understand our root problems in the past and present.

During the course of my World History digging, I have learned that there have been countless cruel and inhumane historical events throughout past, which caused thousands of innocent deaths. More importantly, it is apparent that many of these atrocities could have been avoided.

This is the time to open deep wounds in our history that demonstrate the parts of inhumanity and tendencies of human survival through atrocities and its historical bleeding in the past and present.

Of brutal and inhumane historical events, I would like to discuss two brutally bleeding events~~~Children's Crusade and Comfort Women! We need to remember and try to understand how these brutal events came so that we NEVER repeat. Both Children's Crusade and Comfort Women involved the use of children as slaves: the former was for children army-slaves and the latter for children sex-slaves.

Children's Crusade in 1212 happened during Medieval Crusades (1095-1291).

Comfort Women happened during Japanese Imperial Expansion until America dropped two A-bombs~~~during World War II.

Children's Crusade composed entirely of young children to get to the Holy Land and take Jerusalem for the Christians as old as 15 years old while Comfort Women composed entirely of young women including young girls as little as 11 years old.

Children's Crusade was formed after the Fourth Crusade failed. Two groups were made~~~one from France, the other from Germany appeared. Since Church authorities used joining the Crusades as part of the penance which people had to do in order to seek forgiveness for their sins, thousands children answered call or were summoned an army of children to conquer Jerusalem and convert all of Palestine from Islam to Christianity.



Comfort Women were formed after getting international criticism from Japanese Imperial Army's mass rapes, such as Rape of Nanking. Some of whom were only 11 to 16 years old~~~were kidnapped and/or deceived by people working for Japanese to collaborate recruitment~~~turned into sex slaves, servicing 30 to 60 men per day. Japanese soldiers queued in long lines in front of the cubicles called the 'comfort station'. Each Japanese soldier had 30 minutes allotment to be with one comfort woman per visit.



Joining a Crusade was a form of religious devotion and repay spiritual wrongdoing, and it was considered as a reward of seeking forgiveness for their sins. Children became convinced that they would be protected by God and prepared to march without provisions. This was because their faith might be proven pure and their utter dependency on an all-powerful God proven. Their journey called the "Children's Crusade" ended with thousands of children being sold into slavery, badly beaten, or killed.



Like Children's Crusade, Comfort Women were in hunger, beatings, assaulting, violating, and invading for both the body and soul. Comfort Women could not escape from being in the frontline of the war~~~ from being horrible conditions. I have two missing aunts. The only thing we knew was that my two aunts were taken somewhere by Japanese. My grandmother died waiting. But they never came back home. In August 1991~~~a few years after my grandma's death, ONE Korean woman— Hak-Soon Kim — who served as ‘Comfort Women' revealed her horrible experiences during her sex-slave ordeal. From this revealing testimony as the starting point, more women came forward. With tears in their eyes and fears in their hearts, we have learned bit by bit, little by little about Comfort Women.



The estimated number of Children's Crusade was about 100,000 soldiers ~~~ less than 15 years old.

The estimated number of Comfort Women was 80,000 to 200,000 (estimated by Japanese researcher. Chinese researchers estimated as much as 400,000).

In the long history of the Medieval Crusades (1095-1291), capturing Holy Land, Jerusalem, caused devastated people for both Jews and Muslims. Thousands and Thousands of knights, soldiers, and peasants lost their lives... on the march or in Holy Land battle. It goes without saying about the fact that women were raped, and both adults and children were killed brutally. It was rich men's game through armor, helmet, sward, war horse. And the whole purpose was to get the site of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ or Holy (promised) Land, Jerusalem. Who promised the promise land?

In the history of the Japanese Imperial Expansion (1890 -1945), Japanese called all other Asian people including my father and grandma "Poop Race" or "Sub-Human". The reason of this calling was because Japanese were educated and raised with the concept that they had Imperial blood running though their veins, which made them believe that they were superior to any other races. People who have been brainwashed into these superiority complexes can brutalize other humans terribly and inhumanely, and their behaviors often target what they see to be "Sub-Human" races.

~~~ without regret, they can slice live human beings while still alive and screaming and justify these brutal actions by labeling those they torture as "Sub-Human".

~~~ without fear of reprisal, they can cut live human body to conduct live-body experiments administered by Unit 731, Heavenly Emperor's Biological War Crimes & Human Experiments.

~~~ without guilt or being sorry, they can kidnap young girls and use as sex-slaves forcing 15 to over fifty soldiers per day and beating them death.



Comfort Women experienced not only sexual violence but also institutionalized racism. They were used sex slaves called "comfort women" or "sprit women" for Japanese soldiers~~~at least some Japanese people believed~~~to give powers and spiritual energies to Japanese soldiers in war front. They were transferred to Shanghai, China and Taiwan when Japan was carrying on its war of continental invasion from Manchuria into mid-China via Korea as well as its war against America until Japanese made unconditional surrender due to America's dropping two atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, Aug 15, 1945.



Through these two events, I think that all those unimaginable atrocities were then well-justified at first, but later, they did not even bother to justify.

Most of them did not come back, but died where they were taken.

It was the way things were.

It is the way things always have been throughout history~~~ throughout the past.

Continues even today, both physically and psychologically across the world.

~~~continue to experience injustice and unfairness on our modern society.

I hope that innocent death from Children's Crusade and Comfort Women is remembered and honored, not wasted in vain.

I deeply hope to make sure that no more blood spilled in the name of justice. I deeply hope that there are no more recurrences of these multiple human right violations. I deeply hope that the empowerment of humanity should be the first and foremost issue in human rights.

~~~No more~~~No more ~~~either children army-slaves or children sex-slaves through Children's Crusade and Comfort Women!

Throughout our past from the patriarch, the children and women slave trade has been always occurred and they were treated as property. Throughout the colonial and imperial powers, countless children and women were used, raped, and died inhumanly. Thousands of young people were taken, drugged, beaten and forced into sexual servitude and slavery worldwide.

I feel that those unimaginable atrocities and suffering aren't isolated cases, but the similar violations appear to be an ongoing matter and still continues today.

This is still on-going, even right now

~~~even in the city I currently live in

~~~use illegal immigrants for sex-slaves.

~~~use children to meet the desire of Pedophilia's mental illness.

It is time to remember the victims of our inhumanity~~~to understand through the eyes of victims, especially children in these cases. We as humans are so slow to mature, but we have our hope to educate and learn each other in humane way and respectable way.

This is the TIME to heal those who are still with unbearable tears.

This is the TIME to hug those who are still crying because of past suffering.

This is the TIME to wipe their unbearable tears away.

This is the TIME to fill up the emptiness of their agonizing life with love and understanding.

Let's work together to heal our deep wounds.

Let's educate each other to help the ignorant to see the reality.

Let's hope to have peace in this present world~~~to be peace makers.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/history-articles/two-most-cruel-and-inhumane-historical-events-4878724.html

About the Author

YoonOk Kim began writing after experiencing a near-death from her brain aneurysm rupture in 2007. After more than one month of hospitalization in the ICU, she came home with many setbacks.

When she felt she had NO hope and NO life, her backyard welcomed her to start new life...a new chapter. By working in the soil, planting seeds, and connecting to mother earth, she asked herself, "Who am I?".

With her feet and her two hands, like roots, connecting with the warmth of the mother soil, she dig up the soil to plant seeds of love and healing and peace.

In the same way she dig in her garden, she dig up the story of her mother and her grandmother, while the history of her birth land, Korea, lingers in the background. Through the digging of the soil and the past, she now realizes that her family story is a part of history~~~not separate from it. Through the rootedness from the plants, she now feels and smells the soil.

This was how she started writing her stories to heal the root~~~protect our Mother Earth.

Mother hen hatching TWO eggs!

What is the most wonderful thing in the pond of Universe?

I would say Mother's LOVE for their children!

Mother hen hatching TWO eggs!

Over the weekend, I visited a farm house and stayed overnight to see the stars at a farm house with two friends.

Mother hen hatching TWO eggs ~~~just right before we arrived at a farm house!



It was amazing that Mother hen hatching TWO eggs~~~so we saw two chicks~~~just born two chicks!

We were cried for JOY for newly hatched chicks!



I was soooooooooo happy to witness Mother hen protects her two chicks under the wings!

When I went near her, she raised all of her fur to be in defensive mode~~~

But, I told her, "Thank you for showing me this amazing and the Most precious moment~~~Giving birth!

She became calmer once I talked to her.

This is the greatest joys!



Just as mother hen protects her chick under the wings, I lived under the umbrella of my mother’s pure and endless love, but covered with her extreme sacrifice.



Thank you all Chicken Mothers!

Thank you all Mothers in the universe!

All Mothers~~~you are amazing!

Thank you all Amazing Mothers in the pond of Universe!

Maybe it is the time for America to listen to others?

Author: YoonOk Kim


About two weeks ago~~~in the middle of May, 2011, US veteran Steve House told an Arizona television channel that he and others were ordered to dig a long trench in S. Korea and buried about 250, 55-gallon drums of Agent Orange at Camp Carroll in 1978~~~in S. Korea. Steve House was stationed in S. Korea as an Army heavy equipment operator.



After his claim, more veterans came forward to claim the same issues~~~ buried hazardous chemicals in S. Korea~~~ but different parts of S. Korea. People were/are concerned, VERY SCARED AND WORRIED. I am also concerned as a citizen of the Mother Earth. We have come too far~~~too fast~~~too high. This is the time to slow down and look around to help each other and to protect our Mother Earth.



This all happened last week and this week, and now US and S.Korea have a joint investigation to verify these claims as requested by concerned Korean Officials.



I would like to say Thank You to US veteran Steve House who came forward because of his medical symptoms and because he knew that Agent Orange was bad for people.



Without his revealing his digging and burying experience, we would not know about the hazardous chemical burials!



***



Born and raised in S. Korea and came to America to study, I have lived in America for 17 years now.



During my seventeen years of living in America since 1994, I see both good side and ugly side of America. I have witnessed good and bad, justice and injustice, fairness and unfairness, corruption and willing to fix corruption of America. I have met wonderful American friends and also have some bad experiences. My overall experience in relation to America has been mostly a positive one.



One thing I would like to point out today is I have noticed that many Americans think that Americans owe their freedom to the US military. I also noticed that many Americans think that US military are in S.Korea to help S.Korea.



In reality, why US military need to be in S.Korea?



Do they use S.Korea to control all other Asian countries?



Or, do they use S.Korea to dump all the hazardous chemical and nuclear wastes?



This is NOT about American people~~~This is about US foreign policy and US military action, which not only affect America, but also negatively affects the whole world.



We as ordinary people are the same and are blinded through media and Bureaucracy.



We all know that Agent Orange and related chemicals are hazardous for people and our environment. If the claim of US veteran Steve House is true~~~we all need to think about people who have lived the areas where US military buried Agent Orange. People have lived there for such a long time around those places without knowing what were buried~~~toxic herbicide Agent Orange.



I consider the act of burying Agent Orange in the foreign soil as treacherous crime.



This is not only problems of people who have lived there, but also American problem.



I think this is the Time to clean up any messes US military have created!



What would you do?



Would you take those toxic chemicals back to America?



We have learned news that US had a plan to build a place to bury nuclear wastes in S. Korea, 2005.



We have to act that Agent Orange must be destroyed and disposed safely since there are many people and veterans who were/are exposed to these agents ~~~some died because of cancer development.



This untold act of our environmental and human destruction caused by US military should seriously be looked and never allow such things from happening again.



I say, Let's all take full responsibility and fix it all together!



I also noticed that many America think that America, as the greatest country, has to lead the way to peace~~~America needs to lead the world.



I think this concept of leading the world has led America into building bigger and bigger military empire ever across our world. This requires more and more military actions with and without Americans' knowing, which have ruled out military action against so many others.



Yes, I want No more wars!
Yes, I want No more violence!
Yes, I want to recover the health of Mother Earth to save life and humanity~~~
Yes, I want to focus LESS on the capitalism, consumerism, and luxury system, but focus MORE on harmony with nature~~~ Mother Earth~~~SOIL.
Yes, I am here to plant seeds of love, healing, and peace in the Happy Garden of Universe.
Yes, I want all of us to Live Well & Live Simple with mutual respect and co-existence, NOT just live better at the expense of others!



Maybe it is the time for America to listen others?
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/maybe-it-is-the-time-for-america-to-listen-to-others-4853061.html


About the Author


YoonOk Kim began writing after experiencing a near-death from her brain aneurysm rupture in 2007. After more than one month of hospitalization in the ICU, she came home with many setbacks.



When she felt she had NO hope and NO life and NO tomorrow, her backyard welcomed her to start new life...a new chapter. By working in the soil, planting seeds, and connecting to mother earth, she asked herself, "Who am I?".



With her feet and her two hands, like roots, connecting with the warmth of the mother soil, she dig up the soil to plant seeds of love and healing.



In the same way she dig in her garden, she dig up the story of her mother and her grandmother, while the history of her birth land, Korea, lingers in the background. Suddenly, something clicked, and initially, she did not know what it was. Because she never thought that way, but she now realizes that her family story is a part of history--not separate from it. Through the rootedness from the plants, she now feels and smells the soil.



This was how she started writing her stories to understand the root~~~the SOIL.