some ancient wisdom in a parisian bookshop.
—
image credit: open homes open hands us
Jul28
Tag Archives: kindness
Jul11
courage.
Boars🐗, frogs🐸, naga🐲, lions🦁and tigers🐯 and elephants🐘, oh my!
During the BBC’s coverage of the ongoing cave rescue operation in Thailand, they came across this adorable cartoon by Bangkok-based illustrators Sisidea, which caught their attention after it was shared on Facebook by the Thai Navy Seal team.
This is what Aruni Aunhawarakorn and Jantima Manasviyoungkul (the people who drew the picture) had to say: “We are so, so happy at the news and our cartoon shows our appreciation from the Thai people – to everyone around the world who have been involved in the search as well as those [unsung heroes] who haven’t been mentioned.”
—
“from caring comes courage.”
-lao tzu
—
credits: bbc news, thai navy seal team, sisidea
Jul6
amy’s choice.
oh, amy what have you done?
after a bit of an unexplained absence
and when rejoining us outside at her picnic
amy tells us that she was busy inside
setting her mother up with her old iPad
and is already feeling a bit of remorse and worry
that this choice may have created
a life-long need for her tech support
and round-the-clock calls to her
yearning for immediate answers
to the endless questions as to the subtleties and mysteries
contained within the world of apple products.
her brother quickly makes it clear
that he is hands-off
and is not in any way involved in this endeavor.
she speaks openly of her fear
while the only other things we know
that she is afraid of are mascots
though this new level of fear
may have even topped that.
we all reassure her that she is a good daughter for having done this
while at the same time privately harboring
our own personal doubts
about the potential risk/reward factor involved in her choice.
about 3 minutes went by
and this is a picture of amy re-entering her house
after she has been called in
to where her mother sits with her new iPad
and her first ‘question/glitch.’
she looks frightened and unsure of what awaits her inside.
—
“choices are the hinges of destiny.”
-edwin markham
Jun25
wisdom and kindness.
what a lovely afternoon spent
with a family whose three daughters
each of us have taught and loved in our turn over the years
as they gave thanks to all of their teachers
by cooking and serving us an amazing brunch
at a beautiful table
complete with many homemade delights
main courses, sweets, desserts, coffee, and fruit prosecos
dad and daughters prepare our meal
while mom finalizes the drinks and details in the dining room
—
such an amazing and generous gesture
as their last daughter leaves the familiar comfort
of our elementary school
and moves on to her next chapter
in the middle school division
along with her lovely family
who we will miss
and who have taught their daughters
the wisdom of gratitude and kindness.
—
“what wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?”
-jean-jacques rousseau
Jun22
empathy.
—
photo credit: herika martinez/afp/getty images
Jun20
when danger knocks.
World Refugee Day
In a world where violence forces thousands of families to flee for their lives each day, the time is now to show that the global public stands with refugees. On World Refugee Day, held every year on June 20th, the United Nations commemorates the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. This year, World Refugee Day also marks a key moment for the public to show support for families forced to flee and to stand for their right to stay together as a family unit.
—
“it is the obligation of every person born in a safer room
to open the door when someone in danger knocks.”
— dina nayeri
—
credits: american relief fund, save the children, united nations
Jun11
max.
the kindhearted and quiet and hardworking kid
who comes and goes
without much of a pattern
asking if i’ll hire him
to shovel my snow and mow my lawn
now has a name – ‘max’
and his legend is growing and spreading
he came once when i wasn’t home
and my neighbor paid him to do my lawn
in return for the help i’d given her in the past
and the next time he was over mowing
max suddenly stopped his mower
because he found a baby squirrel
who had fallen from the nest in the tree
and was sitting motionless and scared
we tried to pick the squirrel up
but he feebly ran away
into my neighbor’s yard
who then came out to help
and we all took him to my other neighbor’s house
who loves the squirrels
and said that he didn’t look good
put him in his backyard and see if he would play
then brought him back
and laid him down below my tree
the squirrel soon passed away
and we buried him in the garden
and now, after meeting him
my other neighbor has given max a job as well
and as more and more
of his generous and hard-working sprit is revealed
his business and his reputation as a decent human being
both continue to grow.
—
“as much as we need a prosperous economy,
we also need a prosperity of kindness and decency.”
-caroline kennedy
May27
animal instincts.
when glenn had to go through painful surgery
and was at last home again
tiny sweet olive
approached him gently
touched her head to his
let him eat their favorite food first
and moved quietly
next to him
at his special place by the window
just lying there
in silence
for hours on end
while he recovered
offering him
the quiet comfort
of their tender friendship.
—
“besides love and sympathy,
animals exhibit other qualities
connected with the social instincts
which in us would be called moral.”
― charles darwin
May25
hidden stuff.
rocket the turtle is the sun in the center of the kinders’ universe.
—
“everything in nature contains all the powers of nature.
everything is made of one hidden stuff.”
-ralph waldo emerson
May16
everything.
kinders find tiny ants, roly-poly’s, and baby spiders
when playing on the sidewalk
and decide to create a playground for them
using all of their pretty chalks.
—
“everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
-confucius
