“Your kindness was like a bright ray of sunshine and made me forget my suffering for some time.”
No, I did not bake the muffins pictured above, but I was deeply touched by the writings of the woman who did. Her current blog post begins with the sentence: You can do everything “right” and things can still go horribly wrong. Lord knows I’ve lived that truth.
I’ve posted things by Rachel Macy Stafford before. Her Facebook page is titled Hands Free Revolution; she wrote the book Hands Free Mama, and I especially love her tagline: Letting Go… to Grasp What Really Matters.
One can rejoice without gloating. And one can grieve without despairing. Don’t gloat and don’t despair; those behaviors will simply impede the healing this country so desperately needs.
It’s time for extra doses of kindness, empathy, compassion. And, of course, LOVE.
I started out just being a little curious about today’s Google Doodle, but then I was so inspired by what I read that I decided to include most of the article in today’s blog (bold emphasis is mine)!
Fourth-grader Sharon Sara takes a very thoughtful approach to friendship: What you look like on the outside isn’t as important as who you are on the inside.
That’s the message Sharon emphasized in her winning entry for the annual Doodle for Google contest. This year’s theme was “I show kindness by…“and Sharon’s entry focused on the sometimes difficult experiences she’s had trying to make friends.
“People have not wanted to be my friend because of how I look, so I decided to draw what I do!” she told Google. “No matter what people look like, you look on the inside and then decide if you want to be their friend.
“Kindness means to not look at someone from the outside, but look at their personality, and being open to their friendship,” she added.
Her entry, titled Together As One, features girls of different shapes, sizes and colors, in different styles of dress, holding hands in friendship.
Sharon was asked in an interview: “What does winning mean for you and your art?” I believe Swamiji would love her answer!
“I think winning will affect my view on art by giving my art more of a meaning. When I made my Doodle it had a meaning and I really want to do this with all my art!”
I’ve been struggling — yet again — to take better care of myself. The problem is that giving myself treats is simply not the same as treating myself lovingly.
Thinking about being kind to myself led me to this quote by Swami Kriyananda, and to the thought that “everyone” includes me!
So I’ve turned it into an affirmation: I hold kindness in my heart for everyone — including myself.
If the idea of spreading love seems too much, you can start with a smile. Spread smiles! Or a teeny tiny act of kindness. Spread kindness! It’s all directional…and any of these will be moving us in the direction of LOVE. 💗💗💗
