what a wonderfully kind gesture
for someone to leave a gallon of milk and bread behind
to be discovered by someone else who may need it more.
—
“let us temper our criticism with kindness. none of us comes fully equipped.”
-carl sagan
The lighter penguin is an elderly female whose partner died this year. The darker one is a younger male who lost his partner two years ago. Biologists have followed them as they meet every night to comfort each other. They stand for hours together watching the lights in Melbourne. Photographer Tobias Baumgaertner captured this image of two widowed fairy penguins looking over the Melbourne skyline. It has won an award in Oceanographic magazine’s Ocean Photography Awards 2020.
—
“at the end of the day, the ones who really matter
will be the ones standing next to you watching the sun set
and assuring you that it will rise again in the morning.”
-ash sweeney
—
story credit: natureblowsmymind
on a tired evening after a long day at school
i arrived for my hair appointment
already ready to be home
a stylist new to me
was running late
quite a patient person by nature
i felt myself becoming impatient
really wanting to be done and home
and on and on about me
finally she was ready
we took the elevator and headed upstairs
thinking about waking up at 4:30 the next am.
i sat down in her chair
sensing she had been through something
while she worked we began to talk about our lives
she shared things with me:
she can only work 3 days at a time and then needs 2 days off
due to a chronic illness that has affected her leg
(ah, the elevator)
she is one of eight children raised by a single mother
she was a very young mother years ago
she loves her daughter, granddaughter, and mother dearly
she is sharing rides with a co-worker as her car is not working
she doesn’t always have dinner or time for it
this was her last week at the salon
she needed some down time to recover
she would love to have her own little salon one day
she spoke of other joys and challenges in her life
determined not to give up and make the best of things
such a strong soul
i felt ashamed for my impatience
happy i had waited and not expressed it
i had nothing to complain about
she was an incredible person
still kind and happy
still in the midst of overcoming hard things
i tried to offer encouraging words
wished her well
gave her a restaurant card i had in my wallet
as we parted ways
i was reminded to always consider the other person
wait before reacting or rushing to judgement
we really have no idea what someone’s life is like
i thanked her
so very grateful for the lesson.
—
“let the first impulse pass, wait for the second.”
-baltasar gracian