Let's Send Out Ripples

On my way to the laundry room, full basket in hand, the “Troop 14- Scouting for Food” flyer called to me from the table.

“Oh, that’s right,” I said to myself.

Once the washer was humming, I turned to the pantry closet and picked out a handful of cans and boxes of pasta to donate. Tied up tight, I set the bag on the entry table - the ‘weigh station’ where all things wait for their turn to leave the house.

My kindness hero- Steve Hartman and daughter Meryl.

As I turned to go, I noticed the Tupperware container full of left over Halloween candy. Immediately, the thought of a sweet little act of kindness came to mind.

In red marker, I wrote a note on the tag attached to the bag, “Thank you for doing this today! Here is a little thank you treat,” and stapled a candy bar to the tag.  I set the bag on the front stoop as directed and honestly, forgot about it till this morning.

A few minutes ago, while changing the sheets on my bed, I heard a car stop in the front yard. I made my way around the bed to the window, in time to see the excited boy scout yell to his father, waiting in the car, “Dad! Dad! You’re not gonna believe it! They left me a candy bar!”

I giggled out loud, watching him open the hatch, quickly setting the bag down, and frantically tearing at the candy bar to remove it from the tag and wrapper.   While the car purred and dad smiled out the window, ten-year-old cheeks looked like a chipmunk- chock full of chocolate. Smiling from ear to ear, he hopped on the back of the car and headed to pick up his next donation.

There is a lyric from a well-known Burt Bachrach song, sung by Dionne Warwick that comes to my mind. Listen here.

 What the world needs now, is love sweet love.

 It’s the only thing, that there’s just too little of.

 

This simple moment in my driveway, only witnessed by three, is the what we as a country and world need right now. Taking a minute to throw a pebble in the pond, sent kindness out into the world.

One of my all-time favorite poeple is Steve Hartman and his kids on CBS. They do a show called Kindness 101. They have even created a resources for teachers to use in their classrooms. If you are having a hard day. Please watch any of Steve's programs. It will renew your faith in people:)

On the Road with Steve Hartman (FB)

https://www.facebook.com/OnTheRoadCBS/

Bookmark this page . You will want to watch them all Believe me!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEb3ThbkPrFY2oXucmnnB9ROMTIQXp5zj

For Teachers: https://charactercounts.org/digital_classroom/kindness-101/

Imagine...

no really, imagine...

...if everyone focused on kindness, compassion, love?

Incredible! A tsunami of kindness reverberating in our neighborhoods. It doesn't have to be anything big, small things add up.

Let's make it happen!

What little thing can you do today to put a smile on someone’s face?

I will be on the look out today... how about you?

Take the challenge. Let your kindness send out ripples, filling the heart of another and your own :)

Finding a Poetic Treasure

With a back too achy to stay in bed, I slipped on my robe and shuffled in the dawn light to a cozy spot. "Poetry Friday"- yes, just what I need.

Pulling up the link, I began savoring the words of many talented poets and leaving notes for them on how they inspired me. (Thanks Tabatha for hosting)

After clicking 'send' on my last comment, I wondered what I would post.

And then the most delightful and unexpected thing happened. I found a poetic treasure, buried deep in my "documents" files. A poem I had long ago written, that took me right back to the moment, feeling all the "feels" and once again missing my mother-in-law, June.

Summer is letting go... falling into the arms of autumn.

Hope this reminds you of someone or some place that has been a treasure to you this summer. Keep on creating- writing down that recipe, blogging your thoughts, sculpting images to sit in you garden, taking pen or brush or recycled materials to express those treasured memories.

Like me, you may rediscover them as a perfect gift, just when you need them.

My precious mother-in-law, June,

making her famous tuna salad on the porch at camp.

Miss you, Junie!

Poetry Friday- Transitions

My body is home, but even a month later....

my head is still at Highlights.

7 a.m walks were the best way to prime for a creative day.

There is always a transition when you leave a place you love

and arrive back home to your everyday life.

You've been there. We all have.

The perfect place to write.

To this writer,

my retreat at the Highlights Foundation in Pennsylvania

has been a part of each day

since I got back.

There is something about

connecting with people who share your passion.

What joy!

And being out in nature made it even more wonderful.

Poetry friends- an endless source of inspiration.

Poetry has filled my head and my mornings since I got back.

Over twenty-five poems have been birthed since June 26th,

for a collection I am working on.

I'm in the flow.

But....

This excitement about writing has been tempered by several big rejections I got this week:

for a picture book, three poems, a memoir piece and even a Town mural proposal I submitted with my daughter.

Ugh! It doesn't get easier....

As you know, all part of a creative life.

So...

I continue to try to "go to Highlights" for a little while every day, inspired by everyone and every little thing.

Our inspiration rocks - mine was "seeds".

Hopefully some of the other outstanding subs will transition into acquisitions and an agent. Wouldn't that be nice? :)

So, in an effort to turn those "Literary Lemons" into lemonade, I'd like to take a dip into the "Poetry Friday Pool" for the first time today. Here is a verse poem I wrote on my first morning home from Highlights which expresses the transitional feelings I felt.

Have a good day, everyone and happy writing!

Cathy

Transitions

It’s the morning after.

Eyes flutter open.

“That’s right, I’m home.”

“I’m going to watch the news,” my husband says,

leaving me alone

staring at the ceiling.

I hear the loud mumble of newscasters

eagerly listing their stories,

one more urgent than the next.

My eyes squeeze shut to block it out.

I can feel my heart quicken.

I splash some water on my face

and join him downstairs...

because

that’s what I always do when I’m home.

On the couch,

everything is as it’s been.

But my head is at Highlights.

The images

shout for me to buy a car

or take the latest drug.

I grab the clicker and mute

It is too much.

I head upstairs

to find the quietest spot,

to open the window,

and let my senses carry me

back to the mountains.

I breathe in the birds

and words

and images of newfound friends.

I hear

the screen door snap shut on my cabin,

and buzzing meadow bugs searching for nectar.

I see

another poet on her early morning walk,

and rocks of inspiration.

I feel

gravel finding a new home in my shoes,

and sun on my face rounding the corner to the barn.

I smell

food lovingly being set out by workers,

up far before I stirred,

and the promise of creation hovering in the air.

The tv is suddenly turned off.

The house is quiet again.

I feel my heart lighten.

“I’ll make some breakfast,” he offers.

Soon, the familiar smell of coffee and bacon

slithers around the dining room wall.

I close my eyes

and I am once again

at the barn,

knowing my poet tribe

will soon be trickling in,

eager for their first cup.

©Cathy Stenquist