even though
it’s mid-april
and the skies
delivered snow today
i thought back to a few days ago
when just like today
i had my sandals on
and came upon
a mother and child
in the sun
taking time
to create art
with simple and happy words
‘have a nice day’
for anyone in the neighborhood
who may come by
needing this message.
—
“this time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”
-ralph waldo emerson
“expecto petronum”
—
“dear miss kennedy, i know this spell. if you do that magic it just keeps you safe from stuff if you are in danger.”
– from my student, l.
—
one of kindest and most wonderful gifts i’ve ever received
—
“kindness is a magical spell –
performed by enlightened beings –
meant to enchant hearts and lift weary souls that they might fly.”
-richelle e. goodrich
when someone in our class
got injured while playing outside
the kinder quickly sprang into action
creating art and cards for their friend
23 pieces of art from 14 children
given to her to know she was cared about
a quiet smile was her gift back to them.
—
“making art is like giving a gift: evidence of your spirit and that you are here.”
– paddy mitchell
kinder shares a bowl filled with her red loose parts treasure salad
(it’s a secret recipe)
—
“the heart that gives, gathers.”
-tao te ching
today a ladybug stopped by our classroom veterinary clinic
the kinder docs looked at it closely with a magnifying glass
decided it might be having trouble flying
after much discussion, more close looks, a few notes on a paper, a phone call,
and a blood pressure check of one of the other docs
their good care and magic worked
and the ladybug flew away home.
—
“true compassion means not only feeling another’s pain but also being moved to help relieve it.”
-daniel goleman
carried from home to school
clutched in chubby hand
tiny simple gift
brings precious beauty
to a teacher’s heart.
—
“sometimes, said pooh, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
-a.a. milne – winnie the pooh
a surprise gift to the neighborhood dogs
—
“the simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”
-mahatma gandhi
A bookshop owner in Southampton, England asked for help to move his library due to high rent and wanted to move the books to the new location. He was surprised by the presence of more than 250 young people, elderly and special needs people who were also involved. They formed a human chain where they took thousands of books and transferred them hand in hand from the old place to the new place at a distance of 500 feet. The job was done in just an hour.
—
“make it simple but significant.”
-don draper (mad men)
—
source credit: kalin velkov krasimirov
This sculpture was built by the Irish people in their own country to honor the American Choctaw Indian tribe.
They were grateful because the Choctaw people sent money to Ireland
when they learned that Irish people were starving due to the potato famine.
And that is a lesson in how to be a person in this world.
—
“Generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do,
but it is giving me that which you need more than I do.”
-Khalil Gibran
==
source: open homes, open hearts u.s., karen waters
I didn't have my glasses on.... 