Little rock and stones I’ve found on local beaches have become transformed into what I’ve been calling Kindness Rocks … as in the act of kindness rocks … and also these are Kindness Rocks.
After painting the rocks, words/phrases/images/colour were added and then the rocks were hidden outdoors in the hope in the brief moment of discovery, finders will experience a gentle momentary respite from worry, fear … whatever is robbing them of smiling, enjoying the moment, celebrating life, sharing love.
Have I had fun making these? You bet! And I’ve been having fun hiding them and giving them away, too.
By the way, while there are no design “rules” for the Kindness Rocks, recently I seem to be focused on a theme: love … hearts.
The hope of the latest Kindness Rocks is that finders would share some love … hide the rock for someone else to find … do an unexpected kind deed for someone … tell someone how they are important in your life … smile at a stranger … wear a mask … get vaccinated.
I admit it, I’m a KISSer … KISS philosopher … KISS theologian … KISS human being a believer in living an approach to life reflective of “Keep It Simple, Sweetheart.”
The Apache Blessing’ resonates with my spirit: “May the sun … bring new energy by day. May the moon … softly restore by night. May the rain … wash away worries. May the breeze … blow new strength into your being. And may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.”
The Blessing was supposedly written in 1947 by Elliott Arnold in his Western novel ‘Blood Brother’ and popularized by the 1950 adaptation of the novel in ‘Broken Arrow,’ a movie by screenwriter Albert Maltz. Whatever its original source, I love its simplicity and message.
May the simple gifts of sun, moon, rain and wind bless us in ways we cannot ask or imagine in terms of peace, hope, healing and goodness.
Mmmmmm, what new challenges will be placed before me?
What new friends will I encounter?
Where will this month lead my creative soul?
How will I respond to the “still, small Voice within”?
What learning will there be if I
… respond
… face the challenges
… listen to that Voice within
… consider possibilities
What learning will there be if I
… don’t respond
… don’t face the challenges
… don’t listen to that Voice
… don’t consider possibilities
and see only problems?
Problems.
There will always be problems
of some sort or another.
As I looked through the patio door, I saw her. Ms. Squirrel.
She was eating the seed I’d put out for the birds. I grabbed my purse and muttered “I see you! Those seeds are *not* yours! They’re for the birds. Your food is over there.”
Did she listen to me? Of course not. She was on a mission. She needed to find food to store for the winter.
So Ms. Squirrel stuffed seeds into her cheek pouches and stuffed some more and more and more quickly. Very quickly.
As I quietly inched my way closer to the patio door to take her photo she stopped looked up waited. I stopped moving.
Not sensing danger, Ms. Squirrel began to stuff her pouches with more and more and more and more quickly. Very quickly.
I inched forward a bit more, camera poised. Ms Squirrel stopped, looked up. Waited. I stopped moving.
We danced this dance for a minute or two and before she darted away I took her photo.
Today, Ms. Squirrel came for a visit. She stuffed her cheek pouches and brought a huge smile to my face.
She also brought a reminder ‘winter is coming’ and
many will be hungry.
Not just squirrels or birds. Our local Food Banks will need us.
Thank you for your visit, today, Ms. Squirrel and your gentle reminder.
The wind blows. Floods and rising waters continue their devastating invasion. Smoke from nearby fires is frighteningly strong. Lungs ache. Eyes burn. Breathing is compromised. Evacuations continue. Families fear losing their homes, livestock, pets, livelihoods, lives. Those who survived the fires now face homelessness, poverty, an uncertain future. Painful tears.
The wind howls. People frantically trying to get into an airport and on a plane to safety. People huddle together, stranded on the tarmac in the hopes that they will be able to get on a plane that will rescue them from death, rape, torture. Painful tears.
The wind resurfaces. New strains of the pandemic virus erupt, overloading hospitals, exhausting front line workers, terrifying parents of children under the age of twelve unable to be vaccinated, causing polarization in families where some decide to be vaccinated and others decide the pandemic is a hoax. Painful tears.
The wind changes direction. Young men and women brought to their new country as babies or children face deportation. Infants, toddlers, children, youth, separated from their parents continue to be incarcerated, uncared for, unprotected, terrified. Painful tears.
The wind that has blown for decades continues to blow in new ways as unmarked graves of children in residential schools are found – as memories of childhood experiences of abuse in residential schools bubble to the surface with the discovery of the graves – as the reality of murdered and missing indigenous women continues to sink in. Painful tears.
The wind still blows. People are standing up, speaking out, making their opposition known, not only in peaceful ways, but in not-so-peaceful ways. Nuclear threats beg the ‘is war on the horizon?’ question. Ordinary citizens ask why the law seems to serve and protect the most powerful, but not the vulnerable, not the land, not the environment. Painful tears.
The wind of ill-health continues to disrupt lives. Addiction, chronic illness, mental illness, overdoses, accidents, loneliness, aging, grief, and increase rents that are impossible to meet forcing businesses to close, people out of their homes and on to the streets. Lives, finances, health and relationships are compromised. Painful tears.
Painful tears continue to fall from eyes, covering faces and continue to fall from hearts, covering souls as the sacrifice of those who died, so there might be life and freedom to vote and express opinions, often seems lost in rhetoric and anger. Painful tears.
Tears. Far too many painful tears at this time of fires and floods, rape and torture, hurricanes and starvation, earthquakes and tornadoes, political lies and abuse of power.
May painful tears be diminished by naming the fears (not letting them fester, or stifle conversation) about global warming/climate change, the pandemic, bullying, abuse, political decisions … and by taking action.
Let painful tears flow and motivate to let in Light.
The little engine was at the bottom of a mountain, looked ahead and was about to turn around because the mountain seemed to be too difficult to climb.
But then came the thought “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can” and the little train slowly began its climb up the mountain to the summit.
Like the engine in “The Little Engine That Could” story (authored by Watty Piper, a pen name of Arnold Munk) my former cat, Serenity and Olympic athlete Simone Biles can serve as gentle reminders of the power and importance of the “I think I can” philosophy.
It’s not easy to take one step, then another, and then another and begin to climb the mountains in our life … overcome the obstacles (of fear, lack of self-confidence, negativity) along the way … think possibilities (“I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.”) … and get to the top where peace, solace, healing, joy can be found.
It’s not easy to take one step, then another and then another and begin to climb the mountains in our global lives … overcome the obstacles of (lies, greed, political corruption) along the way … think possibilities (“I think we can. I think we can. I think we can.”) … and get to the top where justice, equality, hope, peace can be found.
Serenity wanted to climb her Scratching Tree but because of recent surgery, wasn’t quite certain how to do that. Slowly but surely, she made her way up her mountain. She began the climb … overcame her obstacles and got to the top where a view of the garden, personal satisfaction and peace were found.
World-renowned gymnast Simone Biles wanted to achieve ‘Olympic gold’ at the Olympics in Japan. She had trained. She was physically ready. She approached the mat but when she miscalculated – again she knew she wasn’t emotionally ready. She left the arena and returned with a decision and slowly but surely, she began the climb up her mountain of emotional obstacles … and will get to the top where peace will be found.
May the images of The Little Engine That Could, Serenity the cat and the courage of gymnast Simone Biles envelope us in “I think I can” thinking … for ourselves … for our countries … for one another.
May we not be daunted by the mountains ahead of us, personally or politically.
May we not allow obstacles to block us.
May we get to the top of our seemingly impossible-to-climb mountains look back in reflection and acknowledge “we did it!”
There are times when we experience wilderness moments
… when temptation calls us to sow seeds of negativity in our social media posts, blogs, conversations,emails, thoughts
… when wild beasts of anger, fear, disillusionment, bitterness, resentment are ravenous and eat at the core of our personal peace and corporate unity.
Those wild beasts and temptations can be deadly.
How can we resist the temptations
remain steadfast in the face of the wild beasts
raise one another up, instead of tear one another down
be encouraged when we falter
have willing hearts to forgive one another and ourselves
be mindful about what is good in this world
repent of those moments when we allow temptations and wild beasts to detract us
Those times when we feel unloveable,
may we feel unconditional love.
Those times when our bodies hurt,
may we know a gentle, healing touch.
Those times when our minds are confused and stressed,
may we be blessed with a sense of peace that passes all understanding.
Those times when the storms of life have battered us,
may we experience a soft embrace.
Those times when all we seem to hear is a cacophony of cruelty, gossip and negativity,
may we know a comforting, encouraging and affirming ‘still, small Voice’ within.
When life seems bleak, the future seems uncertain and/or frightening,
may we discover a glimmer of a spirit of hope.
You have set before us many hours. What will we do with those hours?
Choices. There are choices to be made.
Some choices bring change … in our relationships … in our work environments … in our education … in our health … in our decisions
Some choices bring results in our attitude. … Will I see this day as a day to dread? … Will I see this day as a day to consider possibilities? … Will I see this day as a day to anticipate?
Will this day bring … joy to my heart? … peace to my soul? … life to my intellect?
It’s up to me. Each day.
This day I choose … Joy: work in the garden with the earth and seeds and the sunshine … Gratitude: deal with some paperwork so there’s a beginning sense of order in the “to be filed” box. … Creativity: play with with pen and ink and coloured markers for an hour or so.
So today I celebrate you and thank you for the opportunity of yet another Monday on Planet Earth to evolve, learn, feel, experience, reason, breathe, walk, blog, play, eat, laugh.
Hello Monday – and thank you! It’s good to see you again. May we meet again in seven days.
These days, there seems to be a daily reminder that peace is elusive: news of the pandemic’s “numbers” rising quickly; its variant strains complicating matters; vaccine appointments slowing down in some areas; political goings-on; on top of difficult economic times; how/when/where to grieve the loss of a loved one; increasing sense of abuse happening in relationships; teachers, ferry workers, bus/transport drivers who see their jobs as ‘essential,’ but the government doesn’t see it that way, so they’re not on any vaccine list.
Peace is not just elusive for some. Peace is elusive for a growing number of people around the world and as a result, stress and mental health issues are on the rise.
While we sometimes experience ‘stress’ as “eustress” (from the Greek “eu” meaning “good”), according to the endocrinologist Hans Selye, eustress is the kind of stress that is healthy and gives a good, positive feeling.
However, more often than not, the stress that is experienced is “distress” (from the Latin prefix “dis” meaning “having a negative force”). Distress describes unpleasant/negative feelings or emotions that impact the level of functioning. Sometimes the stress is related to work. Sometimes the stress is related to relationships. Sometimes the stress is related to health or finances or lack thereof. Sometimes the stress is related to busyness or needing to be perfect or organized or … Sometimes the stress is related to grief. Sometimes the stress is related to fear … fear of the known … fear of the unknown. Sometimes the distress is a combination of several of the above.
S e r e n i t y. We want it. We want to exhale fear and inhale peace. P e a c e. We need it
But fear, busyness, worries, grief, physical pain, guilt, sleepless nights, and those everpresent “what-if’s” creep into our minds. And then there are the actions of bullies (at work, school, cyberspace), politicians, media, conspiracy theorists who further propel thoughts away from experiencing any sense of peace.
And yet … and yet … serenity and peace are available. We only need to be aware of them in the gift of our breath in the gift of words, spoken in the silence of hearts to one another, and to ourselves. Like these words, this prayer, this Celtic spirituality-based prayer this whispered hope … bring some semblance of peace this night.
Circle me. Keep protection near And danger afar. Circle me. Keep hope within. Keep doubt without. Circle me. Keep light near And darkness afar. Circle me. Keep peace within. Keep evil out. <adapted from the work of David Adam)
Blessings to you, my friends. And, peace. May the nourishment of the earth be yours, May the clarity of light be yours, May the fluency of the ocean be yours, May the protection of the ancestors be yours. <John O’Donohue>
Photo & Text © June Maffin
