A SHAMELESS THEFT (of an idea)

This is a shameless theft of a blog post.  I just think it's a really cool idea.  I have left paperbacks with a note in them for the finder to read and pass on, but this seems like fun, as well.  I always wonder when I do something in secret for someone else who will find it, if it will help brighten their day, if it will make that person smile.  I have several cotton dish cloths, wash cloths and pot holders I've crocheted, I am going to find some jars (or maybe zip top plastic bags?) to leave them in.

 

A SHAMELESS THEFT (of an idea)

  

http://anestforallseasons.blogspot.com/2011/03/jar-project.html

Have you heard of  ‘pay it forward’ or ‘random acts of kindness’?  The idea is that you’ll pass along a good deed or a small gift (like a paperback book) anonymously by placing it in a public place to be ‘adopted’ by the person who finds it – or in the good deed category, maybe you’ll pay for the cup of coffee of the person behind you in line or secretly shovel a neighbor’s sidewalk.  These little things can make us feel great!  It is great to give as well as to receive.
Then, I ran across this idea.  Basically, you take a jar and lid that would otherwise go in the trash or recycling bin and place something small and pretty in it.  Then, you leave the jar in a public place for someone to happen on – to brighten the day of the recipient.  Since it’s unlikely that you’ll see the recipient find the ‘gift’, you just have to trust that your small token will be well received.
So, here’s my plan.  Gather all those jelly jars and other clear containers that I’d normally throw away.  Then, I’ll crochet a small item – a potholder or a flower, for instance – place it in the jar and leave it somewhere along my daily journey – probably in the atrium of the hospital where I work.  I’ll go one step farther and mark the jar with a small piece of paper that says ‘FREE’ on it.
I’ll also print up a batch of small notes to tuck in each jar stating that this is a Happiness Project.  Then, there’s a good chance that the recipient will think of a way to ‘pay it forward’.
My note will say:
I crocheted this little gift to brighten your day.
Please accept it with an open heart.
Now, it’s your turn to do something that will put a smile on the face of a stranger.

AAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow.  That about covers everything. 

Since my last post, my father had a blockage removed surgically from his femoral artery in his groin, my husband had another (#6) stent put into his heart, I found out my husband had been having an online affair with an old girlfriend for 4 years, my kidlette and I moved out and too the dog, my husband started therapy and begged my forgiveness and we moved back in, my father's patch on his femoral artery failed and he almost bled to death at home, when they repaired the patch on his femoral artery, they found that he has a MRSA infection internally at the surgical site, my mother went from ok vision to severe cataracts in 3 months, my kidlette had a kidney stone that she couldn't pass and she had to have surgery, my youngest daughter is dealing with her ex threatening to move out of state with her son, and my back is getting worse and worse all the time.

Did I ever mention I don't watch soap operas?  LOL  They just seam boring in comparison to my everyday life.  I am so grateful I know how to ground and center myself.  Since I am the only one of my generation in the area, everything is falling on my shoulders.  Dealing with the issues with my husband has also been excruciating, we are going through therapy, and I have made it abundantly clear that I will not tolerate any form of infidelity ever, but all that is topic for another day.

Meanwhile, life goes on and on and on,  even with all the trauma, chaos and confusion, I still have to do the laundry, pay the bills, luv my puppy, cook the meals, do the shopping, and try to do a little house work as well.    Trying to find the balance, trying to hold the joy and wonder of life, learning new crafts.  I've learned to do the Byzantine weave chain maille,

I'm learning to spin yarn using a drop spindle, and I'm learning to make glass beads using the Lamp Working technique. 

Well, not sure how to end this post.  I needed to vent, let myself know that I'm still here, brag a bit about my new knowledge, and just say hi.

The Gaze of Love

I received another e-mail from the author of the Imagine a Woman poem I shared a little while ago. She talked about the feeling of being constantly judged, of feeling like others look at you and pigeon hole you based on your appearance. Being a short and round middle aged person who has physical difficulties, I understand that feeling. I stopped dying my prematurely graying hair about 5 years ago when my 10th grandchild was born. I am 5'1" and currently at about 230 lbs. I have never been "pretty", but I've always been me.

This new poem touched me, because I see so many struggling with the judgment of our society. My kidlette is beautiful. She doesn't have the skeletal figure of a fashion model, she has curves and sass and is so full of life that she lifts my spirits. Unfortunately, she's in high school. That time of life where you are either accepted by the "right" group or you're a loser. She knows who she is and refuses to be pushed into a mold that doesn't fit. I am so incredibly proud of her.

 I have found a place where I do not feel judged. I have a loving coven, filled with sisters and brothers where I do not feel I have to pretend, ever. I do not feel that I am less because I am short, overweight, disabled, or still learning. Knowing that we have a meeting coming up is enough to lift my spirits no matter what else is going on. I wish every person could have an experience like this. I wish every soul had a judgment free zone in thier lives. That is what this poem is about.

             The Gaze of Love: A Body-Loving Invitation to all Women

 Today, and everyday, let's turn toward other women's bodies, and our own, with mercy and unconditional acceptance, letting go of the competition and scrutiny-based sizing up of each other, letting go of the subtle put-downs and diminishments when we're threatened by each other, allowing healing attention to flow one to another until the gaze of love heals us. 

 A gaze of love, calling wise women with their beautiful silver hair and life-lines out of hiding; inviting our smart, gifted daughters to reject the tyranny of thinness and to cease from harming themselves; welcoming the full, rounded bodies of our friends, bodies that refuse to be battered into shape by diets and admonishments. 

 A gaze of love so powerful, so encompassing, embracing the whole community of women, all sizes, shapes, colors, ages, and languages, with the widest welcome, the deepest affirmation, the highest calling, the loudest YES. 

 A gaze of love, inspiring us to bite into LIFE and the fullness of its possibility, to express LIFE through us in color and shape, sound and movement, to honor LIFE by turning our body-loving energy toward projects of justice, relationships of comfort, strategies of wellness, and words of affirmation. 

 Knowing we're all in this together. One breath. One body. One life. And so it is.

Let's take the time to reach out to someone, to share the "Gaze of Love" that comes from the Mother of All. If everyone who reads this reaches out to just one person, I believe this would spread like wildfire. Don't we all just want to be loved and accepted just as we are? With all our warts and bumps and bruises. The bottom line of every major religion is to treat other people the way you want to be treated.