Every morning on our daily walks, my dog, Eto, and I take a familiar path around our neighborhood. We pass the same houses, sometimes seeing our neighbors outside, getting into their cars, getting ready for work or school…going about their everyday lives and routines.
The time of day we walk and the day of the week dictate who we see and when we see them. Weekday early morning walks involve junior high age students walking to a nearby school. They are very independent, staring down at their phones, with an occasional glance up and perhaps a rare smile, usually directed at my extremely cute dog.
These walks are routine and yet they don’t have to be that way. In my quest for more “mindfulness” I try to focus on the smaller things in life and I love challenging myself to see all of the natural beauty that surrounds us.
Each house we pass by represents its own little world. Within each home there is a story playing out. Some of the stories are dramatic while others are ordinary…but they all have one thing in common…our humanity.
One day, while walking with Eto, we came across a woman riding a scooter with a bright orange flag on a pole attached to it, waving slightly in the breeze. We exchanged smiles and said hello. Her scooter was moving slower than it seemed like it should be and I found myself pausing for a moment and wondering…should I stop and see if she needed help or should I just “mind my own business.”
My empathetic heart led me to turn around and go back toward her. I inquired if she needed help and it turned out she did. The battery on her scooter was almost dead and she said, “I could really use an outdoor outlet. Do you have one at your house?”
We were several blocks from my house (plus we didn’t have an outdoor outlet) so Eto and I found ourselves knocking on the doors of houses along the street we were on (actually, I did the knocking) until we came upon a gentleman working outside of his house on a painting project.
I explained the woman’s problem and he immediately pushed her scooter up his driveway and tried plugging it in outside his garage. He wiped his hands several times to get some of the paint off and I felt kind of guilty asking for his help but he seemed unfazed and was instead, quite focused on trying to help us find a solution to the woman’s problem.
The woman lived about a mile away in an assisted living facility and he called their office and ended up driving over there and getting a new battery and bringing it back. In the meantime, his wife had come outside and we all had an interesting discussion - total strangers exchanging names and positive small talk.
Eventually the battery was replaced and recharged. What had started out as an ordinary walk had turned into an unexpected adventure lasting over an hour.
This experience left me with several impressions, among them being the overall thought that most people, when given a situation where someone else needs help, will go out of their way to do just that…even for a total stranger.
Most people are good, despite what you see on the news. My experience that day was proof of that.
It also reinforced the concept of “stubborn gladness”...a concept I came across in a book I started reading this week…the idea that despite the darkness that seems to surround us at times, we can and should choose to see the light and focus on and embrace that, as much as possible. Remaining stubborn in our quest to never give up on that gladness keeps life joyful and positive, even in the most challenging of circumstances.
Optimism, for me, doesn’t come naturally. It is something I must work on each and every day…
Perhaps, most importantly, we should choose to be the light…be the good that we want to see in this world. If we all tried to do that, the results would be amazing.
What do you think?
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Tranquil Moments…
I asked my niece, Jennifer Malphy, if she could share some of her nature photos with my newsletter audience. Each week I will feature a new photo. Here is this week’s:
This week’s Smile Video
In 1951, John Amalfitano's neighbor found an egg with a message asking its finder to write back. Steve Hartman has the incredible story in "On the Road."
#believe #smilevideos #spreadkindnessandlove
What I am reading…
This week I started reading Light the Dark: writers on Creativity, Inspiration and the Artistic Process edited by Joe Fassler.
The Amazon description is as follows: “What inspires you? That's the simple, but profound question posed to forty-six renowned authors in LIGHT THE DARK. Each writer begins with a favorite passage from a novel, a song, a poem—something that gets them started and keeps them going with the creative work they love.
From there, incredible lessons and stories of life-changing encounters with art emerge, like how sneaking books into his job as a night security guard helped Khaled Hosseini learn that nothing he creates will ever be truly finished. Or how a college reading assignment taught Junot Díaz that great art can be a healing conversation, and an unexpected poet led Elizabeth Gilbert to embrace an unyielding optimism, even in the face of darkness.
Light The Dark collects the best of The Atlantic's much-acclaimed "By Heart" series edited by Joe Fassler and adds brand new pieces, each one paired with a striking illustration…”
I think this book will take me a few weeks to read because there are passages I want to reread over again. So many inspiring stories…This one looks like it will become a classic on my list.
StoryCorps
Ronald Clark’s father was custodian of a branch of the New York Public Library at a time when caretakers, along with their families, lived in the buildings. With his daughter, Jamilah, Ronald remembers literally growing up in a library, creeping down to the stacks in the middle of the night when curiosity gripped him. A story for anyone who’s ever dreamt of having unrestricted access to books.
Mind/Body Connections
Are you new to meditation, and interested in finding out how to start a practice? This video walk you through the basics!
Sharing Family Favorites…
In July I shared a tribute to my mother entitled Love Made Visible. This week I am sharing another one of her recipes from her cookbook. She would lovingly refer to these as her “chocolate chippers”...
TeenTober
TeenTober™ is a new, nationwide celebration hosted by libraries every October and aims to celebrate teens, promote year-round teen services and the innovative ways teen services helps teens learn new skills, and fuel their passions in and outside the library. TeenTober™ replaces YALSA’s previous Teen Read Week™ and Teen Tech Week™ celebrations, allowing libraries the flexibility to celebrate all types of literacies according to their library’s schedule. Library staff are encouraged to utilize this new celebration to advocate for and raise awareness of the importance of year-round teen services in libraries.
Children’s Corner
Back in 1999, when I was an elementary school librarian, I started a project where I wrote letters (old fashioned, printed letters) to a variety of famous people. This was prior to the daily use of email and text messages. My questions were simple…
1) From your own life experiences, how has reading affected your life in a positive manner?
2) Was there any particular person or experience in your life that made you aware of the value of literature and the importance of reading?
I am going to share these letters and let you experience the joy many of my students (and myself) have gotten from their touching words - Here is this week’s:
Music Moments
Music inspires me in many ways. Here’s a song that I absolutely love. When I need to be uplifted, this Michael Buble classic is one I turn to often…Enjoy!
Quote of the week
Until next week. Please remember…Begin and end each day with a grateful heart…and always, always be kind….