A terrarium, which is a form of vivarium, replicates an arid habitat. Bromeliads and African violets. make excellent terrarium
plants. You can make a terrarium by using a simple glass bowl, or you can fashion it out of epoxy-coated plywood wood with a sliding glass door on one side. Just make sure it fulfills your purpose and it reflects your personality -- after all it is yours!
Points to Remember
* The size of your chosen terrarium should be considered when selecting your plants and other materials
* Your plants should be easily maintained: short leaves, slow growing, etc. This means you are discouraged from choosing fast-growing plants and cutting them to fit into the container.
* Choose plants that do not shed their leaves. Due to the humidity in the container, these fallen leaves will quickly rot and may cause some problems.
* If the plants are properly maintained, you will not need to replant more than is necessary.
* The cost of a terrarium will vary, depending on the quality and materials you utilize. Epoxy-coated terrariums are more heat resistant than plastic or glass. The size and quality of your terrarium should be consistent to the needs of the plant or animal specie that would inhabit the enclosure.
* Consider also about using a soilless medium. It will help with any drainage problems if you are set on potting soil mixes. Your terrarium container cannot have holes for drainage. To avoid the collection of excess water, you can put a thin layer of horticultural charcoal or perlite in the bottom of the terrarium. This will absorb the excess water as well as makes fresh the soil in the terrarium. You can likewise avoid overwatering the plants. This is especially required if you are creating a covered terrarium.
One of mankind's challenges is to provide security in times of uncertainty. If we live such that we can live well the tomorrows, we are stepping on the principles of provident living. This means prudence not just in preserving and storing food like the ant in Aesop's fable. It means that we are taking thought and action in all areas of living: family development, literacy, career development, financial and resource management, home production, and food storage. It, therefore, signifies that we are taking action for our future. Provident living can give us peace of mind when eventualities arise that otherwise threaten our stability!
Suggestions Toward Provident Living
We should not get into debt in order to accumulate food storage. Panic buying is not provient living. If we do not believe we can grow a garden or do any canning, we can buy extra food and other essentials, a little bit at a time, whenever we shop. Just make sure that they are items that our family wants to eat. We should do some research on the shelf life of the products we buy for food storage.
Provident living dictates building our storage of other essential items. Examples are candles, matches, bottled water, vitamins, etc. We can observe our families and see what they cannot do without in case of emergencies.
Provident living also means building some cash reserves in our homes. One way to start is by putting our change in a jar. In most big stores, there are coin machines that will sort coins and then supply a receipt. We take the receipt to the cashier for cash (minus a small percentage for the coin machine owners). We can then keep the cash in a safe place in our homes and let it accumulate. This is a good project for children.
We should learn to make a distinction between wants and needs. If we are not careful, we can delude ourselves into thinking that our wants are needs.
Freedom is never free. It rides on the wheels of responsibility, and it carries with it respect for the rights of others. Freedom also rides on the sub-wheels of knowledge, discipline, and sacrifice.
Knowledge is the first sub-wheel of freedom. For an individual to be free, he or she must understand the concept of choice. To comprehend the principle of choice, there must be two opposing forces appealing to human nature: one for good and one for evil. The Preamble to the Bill of Rights talked of justice, tranquility, and the pursuit of happiness. What are their opposites? I submit inequity, strife, and gloom. Barbara Engler, in her book Personality Theories, explained that human beings have only two choices: they can unite in a spirit of love and develop a society to meet their needs; or, they can escape from the responsibility of freedom. For example, a woman viewing the inequality of pay between her and a man of similar background and qualifications may either campaign for change or she may just resent it and think of retaliation. She is free in her choice, but she has no power over the consequences of her action. With one erroneous choice brought on by thoughts of negativity, her peace is shattered and despair sets it. Wherein then lies her liberty?
Discipline is the second sub-wheel of freedom. It means restraint and focus. Unfairness, selfishness, discord, and despair appeal to the baser nature of human beings. If we want to build America, it is an upstream battle. The right to pursue happiness can drive people into an uncontrolled lust for power and riches, or it can inspire them to promote law and order for everyone’s benefit. Regardless of internal or external forces that may affect us, we have the power to develop into something higher than our baser nature. America’s freedom rides on that liberated part of us.
Sacrifice is the final sub-wheel of freedom. Where would America be without the blood of noble American men and women who gave their lives for the sake of liberty? Although losing one’s life for the sake of others is an undeniable sacrifice, most of us can offer service and sacrifice by living our lives the way we should. We can live industrious, honorable lives of integrity and honesty. We can love and teach our children to be worthy citizens through our examples. We can devote time observing the people who run the government, their qualifications for office, and taking time to vote for the better candidate. Many, many “cans,” but they all must begin with us.
Freedom cannot be taken for granted. For every Bill of Right, there is a wheel of responsibility. Every citizen is accountable. Everyone must work for the preservation of American ideals. Freedom rides on those wheels.
To what extent must Americans sacrifice to maintain their freedom? America is dependent on the hands of her people. Vigilance, decision-making abilities, and moral strength are some key elements.
Vigilance is vital in preserving democratic ideals. Observance of what is happening in our country is imperative to knowing what needs to be done. For example, when President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a major bombing in North Vietnam, it was founded on an erroneous assumption that the North Vietnamese attacked two American ships. Regardless of how we have differing opinions about the people we elect into office, our leaders need us to work with them. Consequently, we need to diligently seek for honest and wise men and women who would observe to uphold that which is for the good of the people. Our vigilance in acquiring important information about the people we elect to run our nation cannot be overestimated.
Another critical ingredient to liberty is the ability to make wise decisions. Many people look negatively at the involvement of our country in the war in Iraq. President George W. Bush is widely criticized, so was President LBJ for the bombing order of North Vietnam. Which shows more tenacity: to be involved or to be indifferent? What should have been the foundation for such decisions? Karen Horney, a behavioral scientist, brought out four prerequisites for good decision-making: cognizance of our own feelings and wishes, creation of our own set of values, a deliberate choice between two opposing possibilities, and responsibility for the decisions we make. Based on those conditions, both American Presidents did what they thought was best. Our best is all any of us can do.
Watchfulness and wise decision-making abilities must be founded on moral strength. The Preamble to the Bill of Rights called to "establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty” to the American people. Considering our knowledge of what is good and what is evil, based on history and our own life experiences, we can readily see that the Preamble cries for the good in the American people. It calls for law and order that can only be promoted by good character. Seeing that the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States through God’s inspiration, its principles can benefit all nations, regardless of race, tongue, or creed. What can we do, as individuals, to promote peace?
In conclusion, liberty has no price. Americans must be willing to lose even their own lives for their country’s sake. Sacrifice is the essence of the Constitution of the United States, the foundation of peaceful living and of sound relations among people and nations. Regardless of life circumstances, there is something each American citizen can offer his or her country – gratitude and works to show for it.
The power of the subconscious mind can accomplish even the seemingly unachievable. Through conquering fear and realizing that driving forces are either good or bad, we can utilize the power of our subconscious mind to work for us.
First of all, we can conquer fear when we consider it from a proper perspective. When we experience fear, we hunger for the capacity to trust, have courage, to be at peace, and have self-control. Fear is painful. It causes all kinds of disharmony in us. Let the power of our subconscious mind realize that fear’s driving force can be harnessed to promote growth. Fear can strengthen our resolve for a lasting change for the better. When our subconscious mind powerfully uses pain and fear to work for us and not against us, we can achieve whatever we set forth to do.
Second, we can engage the power of our subconscious mind to work for us. As the good book told us, we were not given the spirit of fear but that of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. We can understand that there are always two opposing sides in our life’s existence: the negative and the positive. This sets us in a position to choose for ourselves where we want to be. It is like the absolute value of algebra. Whether we go backward (negative absolute value) or forward (positive absolute value), it requires effort. Whether our choices are positive or negative, another set of issues and challenges come about, the form of which are in the direction that we have chosen to tread.
How can we program our subconscious mind to powerfully work for us? We start with a definite purpose, and then we diligently and patiently work on the steps gradually - one step at a time. We do it consciously at first, until it becomes automatic. For instance, if we want to have a positive attitude regardless of the day we face, we can first practice smiling at ourselves upon waking up. Once our subconscious mind has powerfully allowed us to do that naturally, we can then start quietly telling ourselves that we know we can make it one day at a time. This line of thinking may be linked to Sigmund Freud’s system known as “talking cure” that he believed helped his patients discover and release the power of their subconscious mind.
Finally, the power of the subconscious mind can achieve anything we feel insurmountable. Some feats, however, can only reach fruition when people have faith in a power greater than themselves. Speaking only for myself, this power is God!
