Pearl Dreams
Here are some possibilities for new Little Pearls. We’re always open to new dreams, visions and serendipity, and to YOUR dreams and ideas, too! You’ll see some new categories, in an attempt to cluster the Pearls-in-waiting. If you feel the power of any of these, please get in touch and Contribute if you can. Thank you!
Current Pearls-in-Process:
The Wonder of Little Boys
In 2015, we filmed three very young boys living in that space of wonder between babyhood and boyhood. My sense is that all children at this age live in wonder much of the time, yet many boys lose it. Can we help them retain that openness and joy as they grow? Ben is in the photo here.
The idea for creating a new Little Pearl on the Wonder of Little Boys came from being charmed by each child’s photos and stories on Facebook. I love each of these families, and it’s been a joy to work with them.
A Pearl on Adoption (completed April 2016) and possibly more
Zi was almost a year old when his parents Jana and Seth adopted him from a Chinese orphanage. It’s heartening to see him thriving as he engages with his new world. He truly belongs in his family. Here is the link to Love Creates a Family, Connected Across the World.
And then there’s the youngest, Julian. We filmed him, his parents and extended family on his first birthday. We were hoping for one more filming session that we couldn’t coordinate due to family moves and scheduling issues. He is thriving in his multi-generational family.
There may be a third Pearl with just Julian, given all the news lately about how dangerous it is for black boys and men in our country. Julian may help us open some hearts. This precious child, and all children, deserve a world that meets them as they really are ~ not as some fearful stereotype.
There also may be enough garden (and worm!) footage of Ben for his own Pearl about connecting with nature.
Kida and Her Whales
In August 1976, a young gray whale in Depoe Bay, Oregon gave a life-changing gift by breaching right next to me. My connection with the summer resident California gray whales has remained strong all these years.
In September 2015, Portland cameraman Ben was able to film marine biologist Carrie Newell, her old whale dog Kida and a whale named Patch from a zodiac. We did not get enough good footage of Kida’s interactions with Patch or other whales because of extremely rough seas.
In the summer of 2016, our long-term friend and cameraman Shane, at the end of his family vacation, was able to get a lot more footage of Kida and the whales from a zodiac. Kida was as passionate as ever about interacting with her whales, even after extensive surgery from jaw cancer. We still need to obtain archival footage from the marine biologist to complete this Pearl and probably a longer piece.
Sweet Kida was nearly 16 when she died in November 2016. The whole scene out on that ocean, especially her interactions with her whales, was magic. Kida kept her passion for her work through the end of her long life. She is an example for all of us of what staying engaged can mean.
A huge part of my heart belongs with these whales in Depoe Bay, and Kida made this experience a Pearl for me. Her story will inspire us for a long time.
Our Connection with Animals & Nature, and What They Teach Us:
The Peace of Wild Things
This poem reminds us that when the concerns of the world press too hard on us, we can find peace and freedom in nature. Linda has felt a stronger need for the peace that nature gives, especially during her husband’s brain cancer journey and since his death. We have permission from poet Wendell Berry and hope to clear it with the publisher soon.
The Beauty and Community of White Doves
Asheville White Dove Releases offers an uplifting experience for celebrations and life transitions that would make a beautiful Pearl. Rock Doves fly together and when one bird goes astray, the whole flock circles back to take it in before they make their journey home. What a beautiful example of caring and community!
The Healing Connection between Horses and Humans
“Awake and aware” horses can have a powerful impact on human healing and well-being. We would love to film at Horse Sense of the Carolinas and/or Epona Ridge, two innovative programs with their own unique “equine-assisted learning” approaches. Horses are a mirror for human beings and can help with many issues and emotional blocks related to fear, self-confidence, power, trust, boundaries and more. And they are so beautiful, too….
Cat Pearls
Cats could be the stars of many Pearls, though we know how impossible it is to “herd” them. We’ve had great luck so far filming children, dogs and screech owls, so why not cats, too?
Here is the story of just one special cat, Theo: The Cat of My Dreams.
The Wonder of Whales
Linda has been in love with whales since a profound experience in 1976 off the Oregon coast. One or more Whale Pearls could be beautiful whale (and/or dolphin) footage, with some especially engaging close-ups and a soundtrack of whale songs, possibly with instrumental music. The goal is to help cetaceans burst into the hearts of viewers, so we humans remember how profoundly wonderful they are, care more actively about their plight and learn how to protect endangered ocean life from human-caused threats.
Gifts of the Honeybee
Little Pearls founder Debra Roberts of Holy Bee Press and a large community of beekeepers and organizations in the Asheville area are strong advocates for these remarkable bee-ings.
Honeybees are in trouble. They need us and we need them!
And, of course, more New Dog Pearls!
The Dog Pearls series celebrates the wisdom and love of dogs. All will encourage adoptions and a deeper connection with companion animals and with each other as human beings. Our 27 Dog Stars plus “extras” like a Boxer puppy from a dog park, all filmed in HD in summer/fall 2008, share valuable life lessons.
We created four new Dog Pearls in the fall of 2011, two in 2009 and two earlier ones. We could make several more with the great footage we already have. These really good dogs ~ already filmed ~ are waiting to be in new Pearls. Help us make them stars! Dog(g)nate Now!
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Universal/Spiritual/Societal Interconnections:
Prayer for a New Time
Linda’s song, using footage from the top of Craggy Pinnacle on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC, with its 360-degree sweep of these ancient mountains – aaaaaah!
Escalate Love
This Pearl illustrates the cumulative power of positive actions, even small ones, in the face of escalating violence. In an image from the workshops of Jim McGinnis’ Institute for Peace and Justice in St. Louis, one side of an old fashioned scale of justice holds “boulders of violence” that seem overwhelming. A shift in awareness lets us see that we can each add “pebbles of love” to the other side to tip the scale. Jim’s sudden death in summer 2009 left a huge hole, yet his ideas live on.
This timely message is: “In the Face of Escalating Violence, Escalate Love.”
Progressive Revelations
This Pearl would be based on a stunning Baha’i Youth Workshop dance that portrays both the uniqueness and the common ground of all world religions (permission still needed).
The Awe-some Unfolding Universe
Fascinating concepts about the unfolding of the Universe and the place of humanity in that unfolding, from the work of cosmologist Brian Swimme (we have his blanket permission).
One Spirit in All Religions
Similar to the concept behind Progressive Revelations, this idea merges two visions of our friend Gloria Karpinski, holistic counselor, spiritual director, teacher and author. These visions clearly share the universality of spirit in all religions and how attachment to a particular expression causes stagnation and conflict. She has a new video that also addresses this idea, though we would still like to do a Pearl-length short one.
Environmental/”Green” Pearls
We would love to capture concepts such as “natural capital” and ecosystem services (services provided to us for free by Nature) and how we can work with these gifts we depend upon for survival.
On Being Human:
Pearls about Living, Dying and Grief
Though some of the Dog Pearls address these issues, Linda’s recent experiences with the illness and death of her husband, other family members and friends make these very human conditions feel even more potent. There are incredible gifts in difficult, painful times, when we face them with courage and love.
A Key to Graceful Aging
Back in the 1980’s, Peace Links brought Dr. Benjamin Spock to Asheville for a “Kids Speak Their Peace” event. He was a delightful man in his mid-80’s then. In this image, he is on the right, sitting with Joe Eblen and Linda, who was able to interview him later with an 8 mm sound camera. His response to the question of how he was aging so well is good advice for us all. Permission is still needed for this Pearl.
The Spirituality and Wisdom of Dementia
A friend approached Linda about her profound experiences with her father, who has always been a warm, wise man, as his Alzheimer’s disease progresses to the end stage. She says: “It is a terrible disease but there are also many gifts within it… one of the biggest being the awareness that this moment is all we have, so be grateful and speak your truth every day.”
