Even educated bees do it … take a gap year

written by

Jeannette Zink

The caps and gowns are buzzing with excitement on this special day.  Graduation Day at BeeWise High!  The day that all bee parents hope will finally arrive for their bee sons and daughters.  A day to celebrate, for sure.  A day to commence … a day to say goodbye to yesterday’s struggles, hello to bright and buzzing futures … and for parents to plan what to do with that extra space left in the beehive, now that their newly minted graduate will soon take flight for University.  Yes, life is looking like the perfect honeycomb as a fine mist of orchid scent dances with the celebratory air waves.  The only thing left to do is patiently hum to the rhythms of a commencement speech to be delivered by the renowned explorer and scientist, Dr. BeezsKneezs, a former graduate of BeeWise High. 

Suzzzzzz, quiet, please … Dr. B is about to commence … buzzzzzz

Commencement Speech

delivered by

Dr. BeezsKneezs, Ph.D.

It is truly my honor today to buzzzz before you … Superintendent Honey Bee, Principal Orchid Bee, families, friends, distinguished guests and the Graduating Class of BeeWise High.  Your overwhelming love and respect for me and the life that I have forged upon completing my studies at BeeWise High have sustained my moments of despair and the exciting times of exuberant glory. This afternoon I share in your excitement as you each will turn a page in the next chapter of your young unchartered lives … it is your life, not mine; it is your energy, not mine; it is your remaining time, not mine; it is your shining light, not mine … it is your time to pave the course that only you can travel. 

Soar to the heights of greatness – that is the goal we all aspire, right?  No, not me.  I just wanted to graduate from BeeWise High and take flight to exotic far off blue skies.  I wanted to see the world, but had little interest in any of the heights of greatness or climbing the bee colony corporate ladder. So, that is exactly what I did with the help of my loving and supportive parents.  I pursued my heights of glory through the experiences gained during a time out, a bee gap year.

 

Yes, as my academic records will attest, I had managed to reach great academic achievement at BeeWise High, but I had not achieved the inner peace of achievement…knowing my purpose in the buzz world, knowing the bee that I was intended to be, or the passion that would serve a far greater universe.  How to go about making good use of my bee gap year was the question before me.  Should I just get in the air and buzz away?  Should I not have a plan before stepping out of the colony? Should I seek counsel with the wise Queen Bee?  Should I pray for the answers?  I was very good at coming up with a beehive of questions.  

Then, one day as I hummed at my favorite Beeswax Coffee Shop, I saw a flier on the wall of the honeycomb advertising trips to Antarctica, the lost continent of bee existence.  Bee the FIRST to explore this continent of ice and subzero beauty! Bee the FIRST to participate in scientific experiments of bee life on Antarctica!  Bee BRAVE!!!!  I buzzed home to make my grand announcement to my parents … I am going to be the FIRST bee to ever land on the continent of Antarctica!  Needless to say, my parents were horrified.  Travel to a place where no bee has been before … the temperatures alone will kill you … what is wrong with you … no, absolutely not!!!  But, with the help of my science teacher, Mizzz Buttercutt, we were able to convenience my skeptical parents that this was the exact adventure for my gap year and that the necessary precautions would be taken to protect my buzz life.

 

What did I learn during my time on the continent of Antarctica and my gap year ... here are a few things I would like to share with you, and spoiler alert … the discoveries were not necessarily scientific in nature:

·       Fear became my friend, not a feared enemy.

·       Confidence was a steady companion of my friend, Fear; always coming to visit with each new conquest.

·       The big buzz of victory was in the success of teamwork.

·       Passion of heart is God’s way of paving our intended buzz purpose on this lifetime journey.

·       Treat others with respect as you would want to be treated.

·       Great heights of achievement are worthy when balanced with love for family, friends and beekind.

·       Seek the mysteries of the unknown for the answers to help others.

·       Do good, bee good and live healthy so to serve a higher purpose than yourself.

·       Knowledge is powerful and to be revered … use it wisely.

·       Climb the corporate honeycomb, if that is your desire, but always carry integrity, trust and character in your portfolio of life skills and knowledge.

·       Pay forward all the good that you experience and share the worthiness of your failures.

·       Love is the first, last and the in between to what matters in a life well spent.

 

·       Bee the best that is You, not some other bee, YOU!  God loves YOU … honor this precious gift and cherish with respect by paying it forward to the universe.

To the Class of BeeWise High School Graduates, may the lessons learned from my gap year be my gift that will serve you in your own unique lifetime adventures.  Peace and love are the measures of value in each individual pursuit of our perceived heights of greatness -- no matter the size of the quest.  Let your uncharted course be the pathway that will serve the universal goodness and glory for all.

Thank you and happy buzzing, my kindred spirits.

You may enjoy visiting my blogs:

http://jeannettesartandstories.blogspot.com/

http://doodlngwithwordsbyjeannette.blogspot.com/

The Flying Bejeweled Fragrance Collector

written by

Jeannette Zink

dedicated to my niece by nature

The season is summer and the hum in the hot humid subtropical air is not the flight of a bumble bee, but that of the flying bejeweled fragrance collector – known as the orchid bee. Why should I bring this fact to your attention or single out one family of bees over another, you may question? A bee is a bee … some sting and some do not … some enjoy the comforts of a beehive and some do not … some are exquisite and some are not … some are the mysterious flamboyant flying jeweled in color fragrance collectors and pollinators of orchids and some are not.

I simply like the beauty and charm of orchids. I love the imagery of a mystical fragrance floating on the wings of essential oils.  The classical narrative hidden deep in the feminine charms of nature’s botanical wonderland is cause for one to daydream.  A scene for a summer movie is primed … fleeting lovers, the orchid and the orchid bee, dancing the tango of nature’s lure … oh, what will ever happen.  Check it out at your leisure – I strongly encourage you to explore the life and times of this gorgeous bee species.  The Internet is a treasure trove of facts about this perfume-seeking little flying creature.

 

I became acquainted with the orchid bee via a suggestion from my niece by nature, Kandace.  She shared with me her newly found interest in honey bees, and thought it might be a good subject for one of my children’s stories. Now, how did Kandace become interested in bees … her co-worker had recently started a colony of bees, and shared with Kandace the progress of the bee adventure. That, my friends, is how all the buzz got started!

I latched on to the bee theme, and started my research … with the hum of excitement at every mouse click, I stumbled upon the orchid bee!  Such beauty I had never seen before in a bee.  Then, I learned the orchid’s nectar of enticement is their fragrance and essential oils … the bee’s knee of attraction. Before the poor orchid bee knows what has happened, it may find itself swimming in the orchid’s coy waters of fragrances and oils … the rest is a story for the novella of brief interludes.

One of the facts I discovered during my bee research is that the Antarctic is the only continent that bees do not inhabit.  I can’t say I blame them … why does one want to invade the land of frozen waters and zillions of degrees below the freezing mark … not me for sure!  So, now I have the hook for a children’s story, maybe.  The first bee to ever land on the ice cubes of Antarctica.  How did the bee get to the Antarctic?  Why did the bee want to go to the Antarctic in the first place? What was the bee thinking?  What species of bee … orchid bee, of course!  What did the bee do once landing on the shores of Antarctica?  There are floating research labs populating the Antarctic … did the bee find a home on one of the ships?  If so, what are the scientific experiments happening on these boats of discovery?  How about orchids … like the bee, there are no orchids growing in the cold of the Antarctic. But, could there be orchids growing in a tropical hothouse of sorts on one of those floating boats?  Maybe the orchid and orchid bee form a bond that could save the emotional universe?  Did I mention the maze of DNA?  What if the fragrances and essential oils of the orchid wrap themselves in the leggy arms of the orchid bee … maybe the orchid bee spreads the love to more than another orchid ... like maybe the world of DNA?  Where could this lead … good things or bad?

 

My brain is buzzing with all the plots for this flying bejeweled fragrance collector and its source of attraction, the orchid. Will it be the makings for a children’s story or the next mystical scientific fantasy mystery?  What do you think???

Thank you, my niece by nature, for planting the buzz. J 

  

Stay tuned, my kindred spirits … the plot thickens!!!  

You may enjoy visiting my blogs:

http://jeannettesartandstories.blogspot.com/

http://doodlngwithwordsbyjeannette.blogspot.com/