—
image credit: mindful schools
sweet kinder
creates a beautiful and comfortable bed
for the rhino with the broken foot
so that he has a place to lie down
and recover in peace.
—
“as great scientists have said and as all children know,
it is above all by the imagination
that we achieve perception, and compassion, and hope.”
-ursula k. le guin
how lucky am i
that there is a veterinary hospital
right in my very own classroom
and a doctor from that hospital
ready to ‘doctor me’ and to offer a diagnosis:
“you do not have a heartbeat and you have a very small cavity.”
i am thankful for this
and now that i understand
what is causing my foot to hurt
i know exactly how to make it all better.
“if you get a diagnosis, get on a therapy,
keep a good attitude and keep your sense of humor.”
-teri garr
one of the sweetest cards ever –
created by one of my kinders
who “read” it aloud to me:
“I really, really, really hope that your foot feels better very, very soon.”
(complete with a picture of me with one foot in the giant boot. )
—
“if you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.”
-carlos santana
‘spill simmer falter wither,’ the debut novel by irish author, sara baume
is a devastating, and at the same time, beautiful, ode to empathy, to humanity and to the outliers of the world.
this is not your usual story of a man and his dog.
instead, it’s a 200+ page lyrical poem, with a lot of dark moments, and a few glimpses of light.
as it moves through the seasons, you will come to understand what led them to become who they are.
this is the story of a person and an animal
who most people would pass by without giving them a second thought.
after reading this book, i cannot stop thinking about them.
—
“i realise that you were not born with a predetermined capacity for wonder, as i’d believed.
i realise that you fed it up yourself from tiny pieces of the world.
i realise it’s up to me to follow your example and nurture my own wonder, morsel by morsel by morsel.”
― sara baume
—
image credit: marinerbooks.com, sara baume,spill simmer falter wither
amidst the more than a million people without power days
our local library
has been opening at 6am
and closing late
acting without anyone asking
as an ad hoc community center
in order to offer
a safe and welcoming haven to all
full of
electricity and books and computers and games and story times
a friend to all ages
stay as long as you like
take as much as you need
on a morning visit
during my current nomadic existence
i sat with 2 high schoolers
an old couple
college roommates
a gaggle of 3 year olds
and a family
all here for the same reasons
a bit of respite
a cup of coffee
a bite to eat
a wealth of good company
a comfortable chair
and
an awful lot of warmth.
—–
“a library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people.
it is a never failing spring in the desert.”
― andrew carnegie
compliment people.
magnify their strengths,
not their weaknesses.
—
*credits: https://www.facebook.com/HydestileResidentAnimals
*Please check out Hydestile Resident Animals Facebook page to support this lovely animal sanctuary and all of their good works
the playground community
was worried
and
unsure what to do
how to help
there had been an accident
it had happened to one of their own
one’s hair somehow
got wound around
the button of another
the two involved
sat down next to each other
(no other logistical choice really)
one put her arm around the other
one big one
helped them to unwind it
one turned away
unsure how to help
one stood by
ready to help
one stood at a safe distance
watching closely
helping by being near
and
in the end
all was well
once more.
—
without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.
anthony j. d’angelo
I didn't have my glasses on.... 