"Transformation," Monday's Warm Cocoa, 5.26.2025

"We have hundreds of volunteers making this possible!"

 – Ashley Wardlow

Transformation

“We’re, first and foremost, an educational organization,” Ashley Wardlow, Executive Director of the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks explained as we walked the butterfly pathway to their Butterfly Garden.

As our walk began, person after person came up to Ashley to speak with her about something an idea they were excited about. They were all volunteers who were clearly, deeply and personally invested in this garden. Ashley greeted each one personally with a broad smile, and gave them her full attention as she listened. Her smile never wavered.

“We have hundreds of volunteers making this possible!”

As we arrived at the Butterfly House I spotted a little basket, on a small side table, at the entrance. There were small plastic bags, each containing a butterfly or a chrysalis. The bags had been placed there with great care.

“What are these?” I asked.

“We host more than 6,000 students on field trips each year,” Ashley replied. “The students and others in our community scour the area gathering them. Then, they bring them here to be placed in the Butterfly House, where they’re safe and can transform. In the early summer, the chrysalis emerges as a butterfly. It is the most magical place then and for the rest of the summer! The butterflies are happy and thrive here, because of nectar producing plants we have inside the house.” 

After spending a few minutes of enjoyment, absorbing the wonders of the Butterfly House, we headed back to the hubbub of their Chefs in the Garden event; a showcase and competition between some of the region’s best chefs and their restaurants. It’s the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks annual spring fund raiser. So, soon we walked the same butterfly pathway past a large butterfly sculpture, located on the south side of the path. And, once again a myriad of people came over to speak with Ashley.

“She is the embodiment of the butterfly pathway,” I said to myself. “She plants eggs with every conversation.”

Those eggs had transformed into individual chrysalis, who had changed into beautiful butterflies, who were now fluttering all around us, with beauty in their wings. They are the ones who had and will continue to transform the surrounding garden into something greater that plants, animals, and insect residents. They have created a flourishing community.

I was marveling at Ashley and the way she orchestrates all of it, through her joyful caring, listening and educating. Her work floats on butterfly wings and bedazzles with her beckoning smile.

“No one who comes here can leave without a smile and a heart filled with happiness,” Ashley says.

I believe her and believe in her. She is the living inspiration of an amazing, ongoing transformation of nature and people.

__________________________________________ 

I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as a real estate agent and Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ktZfblXh2jAyKce2-EJazGOdQnaERL3A/view?usp=sharing

"The Giver," Lynn Butterfield's Monday's Warm Cocoa 5.19.2025

"He’s always helping us, when we’re the ones who are supposed to be helping him!"

 – Darian Harris

The Giver

It was “Demo Day” for the Fuel Accelerator last Wednesday and perhaps it was serendipitous that it was being held at the new Heartland Whole Health Institute. But, the serendipity was just beginning to be unveiled, as Darian Harris loped up, in his larger than human stride and smile, to say hello.

“Andrew Bart tells me that your new Fuel Cohort in Phoenix is going very well,” I said, knowing that Darian was a key contributor to its successful launch.

“Yes!” Darian responded before continuing on with, “He’s always helping us, when we’re the ones who are supposed to be helping him!”  

“That’s who he is,” I said while adding. “I’ve never met anyone who knows as many people and is constantly and happily connecting them to others in an effort to be helpful!”

As those words left my mouth I remembered recent research that reveals how telomeres, tiny bits of DNA, can reduce stress while lengthening life. And, yes, this connection between telomeres and Andrew Bart came to me, while standing in the Heartland Whole Health Institute!

Scientific studies show that specific individual practices can help slow the deterioration of and even lengthen telomeres, potentially slowing down aging and improving overall health. The best news is that, unlike treatments such as Botox and facelifts, these don’t come with much of a price tag. I won’t go into the details of each research suggested practice, just the first one, the personal practice of helping others. After all, it’s the trait that Andrew has fully assimilated into his life. 

It can also be called the characteristic of compassion and fostering social connections. 

Research studies have shown that when elderly people are given something as simple as a plant to care for, they live longer. And many studies continue to make the point that helping others helps all of us individually.

A study from the University of Wisconsin found that people who practice loving-kindness meditation increased their telomerase activity, through an enzyme that helps maintain telomere length.

Showing compassion to others, as well as ourselves, lowers stress hormones like cortisol and triggers positive physiological responses in the body. When you and I practice self-compassion or offer kindness to others, we feel calmer, more connected, and less stressed, which helps reduce the strain that stress puts on our bodies.

Best of all, you and I can start receiving such benefits immediately by practicing small acts of kindness each day, whether it’s offering a kind word to a colleague or sending positive thoughts to someone you care about. 

I’ve decided to call such small acts, “Andrew’s-micro-moments of giving.” Because when you give to others, life gives right back to you and your health, just like Andrew, The Giver.

______________________________________________

I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as a real estate agent and Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ktZfblXh2jAyKce2-EJazGOdQnaERL3A/view?usp=sharing

"Angels Around Us" Lynn Butterfield's Monday's Warm Cocoa 5.12.2025

"Excuse me sir, have you seen my brother." – A stranger

Angels Around Us

"Excuse me sir, have you seen my brother?"

The older man was caught by surprise. He didn’t know this approaching boy who was about ten years of age, dressed in his soccer uniform.

“He’s dressed in a soccer jersey. It looks like the one I am wearing, but it has a stripe across here,” the boy continued, while using his hands to identify where the stripe would be, had it been on the jersey he was wearing.

The man listened intently, as the distress in the boy’s face and voice were clear.

“I was asleep in the car,” the young boy continued. “When we got here my brother woke me up and told me he was going into the store and that he’d be back soon. That was a long time ago. Will come into the store with me to look for him?”

“It’s a big store and it is very busy today,” The man replied. “It’s busier today than it was at Christmas time. If we go in there and begin to look, he’ll likely come out of the store and we’ll miss him. If that happens he’ll be worried about where you are. I think it is best for us to wait for him by your car. Do you know where your car is”

The boy responded with a “yes” and the two of them walked to the car, which was parked not far away.

“I’m afraid,” The boy said with tears beginning to glimmer in his eyes.

“Would you like me to wait here with you until your brother comes back so you aren’t alone?” The man compassionately asked. “I remember being your age and feeling alone.”

“Yes, I would like that,” the boy said in gratitude.

So, the two strangers stood by the gun-metal-gray van waiting together. The boy was relieved to have someone with him, but he still tipped up on his toes with a stretched-look, anxiously seeking his brother every minute or so.

“Does your bother have a phone?” The old man asked as a way to relieve the anxious boy.

“Yes.”

“Do you know his phone number?”

“No. My mother does, but she is visiting her mother today, because tomorrow is Mother’s Day.

The man followed with, “Did you play a game today?”

“Yes,” the boy responded earnestly. “We won and I played well. “My brother is our coach.

Silence followed for another ten or so minutes.

“I’m sorry this is taking so long,” the boy said anxiously.

“There is no place I’d rather be right now,” the man gently replied.

The boy’s face relaxed as a result.

“I’m happy to be here with you until your brother comes out,” the man assured him while both sets of eyes stayed fixed on the store’s exit.

Then, with a sudden burst of brightness gleaming from the boy’s face, words of relief resounded.

“There he is!”

Man and boy stood conjointly, tracking the cart-pushing-twenty-year-old’s progress toward them. They stood united until the brother was fairly close.

“Thank you for waiting with me,” the boy said in gratitude, as he locked eyes with his cherub.

His eyes were communicating, “I’m glad you were here to be my guardian angel.”

_________________________________________

I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as a real estate agent and Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ktZfblXh2jAyKce2-EJazGOdQnaERL3A/view?usp=sharing

"Every Version" Monday's Warm Cocoa 5.5.2025-Lynn Butterfield

"Every house I lived in while growing up is gone."

Every Version

“I told my wife that even if we lost everything, except each other, we would be just fine.”

Jon Buckner pulled up a blue velvet covered chair to the table, while beginning to talk. He had just finished a phone call with his wife. They were discussing the challenges they faced in their dog grooming venture.

“We’ve been having such a hard time finding people to work in our business. Sometimes it feels as if we’ll never be able to get over that hump,” he said, before taking a pause and turning more philosophical about life. “I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve done many different kinds of work. I’ve built houses, been a surveyor, a mechanic and seen much of the world as a designer, all while living here, in this place.”

When Jon was a young boy, this place, his home town, was much smaller than it is today. In fact, earlier in the day, one person who had not been in the town for twenty-five years commented that it wasn’t even the same place then, as now. There are thousands of more people. There is construction everywhere and opportunity is abounding now as compared to that quarter century-former-self.

“Sometimes it’s just hard to remember the way things were when I was growing up,” Jon reflected while describing his past. “When I was a boy, if we were lucky enough to be living in a double-wide mobile home of questionable condition we felt grateful.”

His description deepened as he when on to say, “Every house I lived in while growing up is gone. You know that condemned, boarded-up white house just off of east Central Avenue? It was my home for a while. When I lived there it seemed to be made of nothing but asbestos and dust. But, we were happy, because we were together and we had a roof over our heads.”

There was determination in his voice and a steel-like-strength shining from his face as he rehearsed end-part of the conversation he had just finished with his wife. He had told her that things would work out fine for them, even if their “extra things,” the things that provide them with additional comfort, such as their Escalades, were to go away they could still be very happy, and perhaps even more so.

After all, the life he used to live, the one currently dancing across an invisible stage, up front in his memory as he was story-telling, transmitted certain peace and joy into his present.

“I’ve done many things throughout my life. I know how to work in different vocations. I’ve had less and I’ve had more. And, the thing I always keep in mind is that I’ve had happiness in every time and every version of my life.”

_____________________________________________

I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as a real estate agent and Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ktZfblXh2jAyKce2-EJazGOdQnaERL3A/view?usp=sharing