Last Wednesday Wisdom for May

On the last Wednesday of every month, I serve up a potpourri of advice, inspiration and other tidbits I've come across in recent weeks. 

If you read through to the end (no fair skipping ahead!), you'll get a treat: a visual recap of a fun event from the past month.

Such things . . . as the grasp of a child's hand in your own, the flavor of an apple, the embrace of a friend or a lover, the silk of a girl's thigh, the sunlight on rock and leaves, the feel of music, the bark of a tree, the abrasion of granite and sand, the plunge of clear water into a pool, the face of the wind—what else is there? What else do we need?
​--Edward Abbey, author, essayist and environmentalist

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world than the breathing respect that you carry wherever you go right now?
--William Stafford, American poet and pacifist

I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.
​--Diane Ackerman, author, poet and naturalist

I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar.
--Robert Brault, blogger

Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks.
​--Yo-Yo Ma, cellist

I love the sutra sthira sukham asanam: "Effort without tension, relaxation without dullness." It reminds me that energy should not be confused with anxiety and stress.
--Renee Loux, author, chef and green-living expert, interviewed in Yoga Journal, May, 2016

To achieve greatness, start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.
​--Arthur Ashe, the first African-American man to win Wimbledon

And now, as promised, a virtual visit to Tulip Time, an annual Holland, Michigan event that took place earlier this month. Put on your wooden shoes and come along!

A view at Windmill Island Gardens, a 36-acre municipal park

"De Zwaan," a 250-year-old, working windmill brought from the Netherlands in 1964

More than 115,000 tulips grace Windmill Island Gardens in the spring

Guaranteed not to wilt!

The Kinderparade (Children's Parade), one of several parades during Tulip Time

Kids in the parade carry handmade props related to Dutch culture

Someone is having a good time on this float, and someone is not

​So, readers, where has life taken you, and what wisdom have you gleaned in the past month?