Friends and family taking note of my Kindlandia posts—a blog featuring Kindness in memory of my best friend Edythe Stromme—are joining in and sharing their experiences of Kindness. Dear Edythe, My book coach, Kay Vreeland, recently sent heartening words, “I’m noticing the Kindness movement more now, and these were on Instagram this morning… A charming new book, Be Kind, by Pat Zietlow and illustrated by Jen Hill have their advanced reader’s edition available. http://amzn.to/2DIDhp3 The sweatshirt quote is, “In a world where you can be anything, CHOOSE KIND.” The quote reminded me of the ancient Native parable about the two wolves. A young boy approached a wise Elder. He said, “I have two wolves inside of me. One is always angry and mean. The other is kind and loving. I’m worried about which one will overtake me.” The Elder gently replied, “It depends on which one you feed.” Today is Multicultural Children’s Book Day, January 27, 2018. For the past several weeks a dedicated team has gathered the support of writers who have authored books to highlight kindness, inclusion and honoring of diversity. One feature offered as a FREE RESOURCE for teachers, librarians, parents, and KidLit Lovers is a Classroom Kindness Kit and Diverse Booklist. The resource is available until January 30th. Click on the link to access. Please share this resource! http://bit.ly/2DWECoV |
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Billboards for Kindness!
Dearest Edythe~ During your recent visit in November we noted some derogatory bumper stickers. We both agreed that people should have the right to “voice” their opinions, but wouldn’t it be better to say what they are for, rather than degrading who or what they are against? Lifting up a cause or a preference raises awareness rather than spreads negativity. Rather than “Down with creepy crawlies!” How about “Hurray for Cuddle Bugs!” and we laughed! When driving north on Aurora Highway this week, I noticed a new billboard that I know you would have loved. “Use your EMOJI Keyboard for Kindness. Follow @ISEEBULLYING.” Social Media has the potential to do so much good. We reach one another across the globe. We share information. Sadly, social media can spread hatefulness and pain as well. Thankful to see a billboard as a reminder how hurtful a thoughtless comment or emoji can be as it pierces the heart and mind of a recipient. Another billboard I saw many years ago was, “Your words hurt as much as your fist.” Having been raised by an abusive father—both physically and emotionally—I am especially sensitive to the power behind these two billboards. I am thankful the choice for Kindness is being given voice and visibility. My best friend, Edythe Stromme, passed away on December 26, 2017 and this series of Kindlandia blog posts is in her honor. Over the years we frequently phoned each other and shared acts of kindness we’d seen or experienced. Life is short. Make haste to be kind. Be swift to Love. Have you ever watched a line of marching ants? I have. Do you know what I noticed? No matter what happened to an ant’s marching buddy—washed away, stepped on, became somebody’s meal, or other horror, the line of ants kept moving, barely missing a step. As a child, I thought how cruel for the ants not to stop and try to help their ant buddy or at least stop to grieve. After many years as a hospital and long-term-care chaplain I have been witness to family and friends stopped by the grief of losing a loved one. Over the years, I too have lost family and friends and have been immobilized as I mourned and grieved. Nevertheless, life marched along. Although the business of living was the same, we were not. Our lives were forever changed. As we are humans and not ants, there must be another option besides a mindless march with repressed grief or opting out of Life’s march altogether. How do we honor the life and love we lost yet move forward with our lives, as we must? Over the years, I learned to integrate the losses into my life. Grief ebbed and flowed. It took time. I sought avenues to honor my loved ones, cherish our memories, and discover new ways to step forward once again into life. Over Christmas this year I lost my best friend, Edythe Stromme. We’d shared a glorious friendship for 21 years. Her family welcomed me into their sacred journey. I was able to be with them during her last five days on hospice. I was there to hear Edythe’s final breath. I was devastated by this loss. I cried to my family, “I do not know how I will get through this.” I couldn’t imagine how to integrate the loss of Edythe. In a time of quiet and of thanksgiving for Edythe I recalled how each time we were together we declared it a time and place of “Kindlandia.” A place where only kind people and actions were allowed. When something on the news was dastardly, we joked, “Well, they won’t be invited into Kindlandia!” Edythe’s tag line on her emails was, “Spread Kindness.” Mine has been, “Make haste to be kind.” or “Live Kindness.” I remembered her with a prayer I’d found especially meaningful in memorial services, “Thank you for the warmth and love Edythe offered us and the strength and peace she brought us in her own unique way. May all that was good and special in our life with Edythe continue to be cherished by us.” Instead of grieving over phone calls and visits with Edythe no longer possible, I decided to integrate Edythe’s memory into my life by creating a blog, “Kindlandia,” dedicated to her and the value of kindness we both cherished. Edythe’s legacy of love and creativity reached across the globe. Kindness was her cornerstone. Ah, and the ants? What I, as a child, interpreted as cruel disregard, I now realize, as an adult, was the instinct for their species to survive. The surprise and gift for me is how those determined ants have inspired me to move forward, back into the march of life. |
AuthorI cherish the gifts from Mother Nature and Father Time. Come share your stories and I'll share mine. Together we can journey as our tales unfold~ Subscribe to my blogArchives
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