A Perennial Garden Of Love: A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

By Josephine Ball

I am inspired by incredible, wonderful people and the delicacy of nature, which causes massive scribbled notes to be written by me (even on small pieces of paper on my bed). I hope the day never comes that I take for granted this deep connection that assists with growth. I sincerely hope the enclosed material will somehow help with your growth in your travel to wholeness, or assist you in how you choose to experience that road.

You will find powerful tips throughout to help insight and healing. There're also brief facts, thoughts, information, and techniques to help transform life at its core with tidbits of wisdom, insight, humor, and compassion.

I truly hope none will startle, disappoint, or be misunderstood. The weaving together of this work contains some of what is called life, which gives us the edge not only to survive but to thrive, to deal with whatever comes through the door. Enjoy the journey, and experience the power. It comes straight from the heart, directed by the Spirit to those who challenged me to put my scribbles in a book. Here it is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9781684989584

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

Thank You

Author's Note

Wolphila Thanka (Many Thanks)

Remembrance

Family

I Remember

Code of Professional Ethics

Bullying

Jorieum Health Affiliates

Grief

Stages of Grief

Grief

The Death of a Child

Substance Abuse

HIV/AIDS 101: Pre-/Post-Quiz

Pre-/Post-Quiz

How to Spot an Abuser

Quotes (Part 1)

The Baltimore City Health Committee Expectations

Pledge to Rescue Our Youth

Prayer for the Day

Personal Biases

It Matters How You Live

Love

For My Relationships

Knowing What I Want

Relationships

Al

Desperation to Depression to Suicide

The White Knight, JT

Such a Shame

A Woman of Strength

Inspiration for a Sense of Balance

Close Call

Dreams

Dreams Remembered

Spirituality

The Love of God and One Another

Theology of True Christian Love

Brush Your Headache Away

Early Morning Exercise

Right Deep-Breathing Massage

Tidbits

Quotes (Part 2)

Did You Know?

Suggestions to Women

You Are in Charge of Your Life

Check Out Your Resources

Food

Having a Dinner Party

Eating Out

Home Remedies

Food Tips

Afterword

Acknowledgments

About the Author

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A Perennial Garden Of Love

A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Josephine Ball

Copyright © 2023 Josephine Ball

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2023

ISBN 978-1-68498-957-7 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68498-958-4 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

To my mother, Alma.

To my father, Joe.

Thank you for your grace and truth. Thank you for your self-confidence and patience. And to both thinking I was a source of pride and unconditional love.

Josephine Ball.

Josephine Clematis.

Gorgeous pink double blooms! Breathtakingly beautiful.

To my daughters, you are gifts from above to nurture. I tried my best and sometimes failed, but God gave me the best. Never hold back; you were meant to achieve the best.

To my grandchildren, ditto for the above. I love all of you immensely.

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. (Isaiah 11:6)

A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark. (Chinese proverb)

When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I came to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge. (Albert Einstein)

Given to her in 2017, to K—great-granddaughter. Ditto to all the grandchildren. You are very special, and here are some special words/advice/love. Always live your life in a kind and forgiving way. People can be unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, you may be accused of selfish ulterior motives. But be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will gain some unfaithful friends and genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If they are jealous when you are happy, find serenity. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten. Do good anyway.

The opposite of love is not hate: it is indifference. Think higher; feel deeper. You are a wonderful blessing from above with wondrous charm, warmth, laughter, thoughtfulness, and love. Think always that God created you to succeed. So live prepared, knowing you have all that you need. Life is an occasion, so rise to it.

Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy. Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change and think positively. One beautiful heart is better than one hundred beautiful faces. Refuse to be drawn into controversies. Hold the people you love close. They will be beside you every day forever. Never take them for granted. Learn to use the tongue in the right way, never in anger. Know that some friendships may be dangerous, but don't be afraid to build friendships with common interests and love. I love you!

Preface

I have been challenged by many to write a book. I wondered what type. Over the years, I have presented dialogue and written a lot about different topics. I have spoken at rallies; presented testimonies before city, state, and national bodies; presented at workshops numerous times. I had the material. I would often awake from sleep and write in the dark. This is a compilation of those, mostly with small writing too.

Little did I know that scribbled notes/writings would take so long to get in one package: the inability of a working machine (my computer), then the limitations of the human machine (my body)—causing dependence on others—threw me completely out of control. Being told my writing was too small. Some things were hard to remember. I had to call on my sister, Peggy, who remembers almost everything. Some details were forgotten, some just not written in, and some I gathered my courage to include. If you have a dream, a vision, an idea, don't wait. Don't throw it away. Take advantage. Find some way to follow through and start now.

A lot was not written in, as it should have been forgotten or put aside (as it should).

Egyptians felt, in this life, one should enjoy oneself. A popular song reminded people to take advantage, of every moment. Was this because people rarely lived beyond forty years? I don't know, but I do know that I have really enjoyed my life even with the complaints that come with old age—bones aching throughout, falling asleep during the day, growth of weakness, eyes and ears changing, heart sometimes forgetting to beat. Much to complain about.

No. The fact that I am here, able to walk on top of soil, is a true blessing that I never forget. I am grateful for the opportunity and thank God for the blessing. I've read, researched, tried, practiced, and sometimes demanded that medical practitioners attempt to help me for migraines, or what I called brain tumor. Then there was mysterious bleeding in the brain; left carotid paraganglioma; insomnia; bleeding diverticulitis; deep curvature of the spine; unmanageable blood pressure; and two strokes, going from a proud straight walk to a slight limp. I did not realize the list was so long. Oh, don't forget gastric problems. Long list.

No, not. My life has been truly blessed with lots of laughs, fun, and dancing. I love to dance, and I could dance. I also lived a very healthy lifestyle: took a lot of supplements, jump-roped in my office every day, then ate popcorn for lunch until my dentist told me to stop. It gets under the gums. Then I had a gum disease (pemphigus).

I did a lot of teaching in my job, in private practice, and in volunteering. I enjoyed the satisfaction—achieving gratitude and satisfaction—witnessed from vocal and written report. I felt gratified, whether the attendance was great or just one to five people. I feel if even one person was helped, this was great.

I feel the meaning of life is attempting to perfect oneself, knowing this goal is never achieved and loving yourself for doing it and wanting to do it. This is one reason I loved working with children. It truly bothered me to see some, where it seemed apparent, they were never told they were loved nor were shown love in any way. And with young girls, never told they were pretty or loved. (I shudder when I think about it.)

My sister—Peggy—and I were talking about this recently, how it seems to be the norm when the opposite of what was experienced in our family was not experienced by a lot of people we know and talk to—how daily beatings with belts, cords, etc. were with shouts of how stupid they were. We talked about how lucky and blessed we are.

Daughter's grandson.

Antoine. Tiffany.

Thank You

I am not bound by what I have been or what I've become. I give no excuses for anything. I am greater than anything I have or will experience. Nothing can erase or lessen the spirit within or the being that I was created to be.

I love volunteering. I've done a lot, especially working with children. I became more determined after finding research showing children who can't read proficiently by the third grade are four times likely to drop out of high school. (Too many get into trouble.) The majority of those children were likely Black and more likely to fall into poverty.

Many inmates were found to have reading difficulty. It was found that students and volunteers benefitted from a reading program: self-esteem was increased and behavior was improved. The mental and physical health of volunteers improved. Lives were changed. Children began to enjoy coming to school. That's why I decided to help in schools. Mrs. M and I had visited the inmate NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) program in one of the institutions. I told her I wanted to try to start an inmate program at my church, but it did not pass.

As a clinical nurse specialist, I helped to plan for and participated in clinical grand rounds, teaching, researching, and following up. I started a special group for violent patients. I loved all my coworkers. I never worked at a job I did not like. I truly enjoyed private practice with my business partner. I had to give it up because it was too dangerous for me alone. My business partner died. I retired, and I had stopped driving.

Even though I still got requests, some were difficult to complete without my partner. For example, focused group sessions at a university. To be really successful with this, it takes two people: my partner who had died was more proficient in med surg, and I in psychiatry. I no longer had the office, and sometimes it may be dangerous to session in your home alone.

Do you think that just reaching out can change a person? Even a smile or a simple hello? I do and have seen it happen. I had people tell me, Your smile made me feel so much better. Try to be polite to everyone you encounter. Small actions can have great effects on people (like the fluttering wings of a beautiful butterfly for me). All of us can have an impact on making someone's day, making the world better—making someone feel they matter.

The butterfly makes me smile and makes my day brighter. It amazes me that