Saturday, September 29, 2012

Loving Kindness Through the Mail

My mother recently came across some letters that had been sent to my Grandmother. Grannie  treasured the letters that were sent to her, even if it was a quick note on a card. She would re-read each letter and instantly recreate the same joy as if it was just received that day. She enjoyed phone calls and visits but she really cherished those letters. Postal love a friend calls it.

In an age where everything is digital and on a screen of some sort it really is a special thing to receive a hand written note via old fashioned postal mail.

A few years back a friend of mine mailed me a beautiful message written on a beautiful stationary note card. It was just a quick "I'm thinking of you" kind of a note but it came at the most perfect time. Things were utter chaos in my life back then and that note was something simple that I could hold in my hand. I carried it around in my purse for weeks and I received the same long lasting joy that my Grandmother experienced as I would open it again.

A few years ago Hannah Brencher started a random act of kindness movement that would not only change her own life but countless others. Recognizing her own need for "postal love" she began leaving loving notes of encouragement around her.

"Moving to New York unraveled me and I needed a way to cope and step outside of my own loneliness", she wrote.

She began blogging about the letter writing and started a beautiful act of kindness movement. Her idea seems so simple. The world doesn't need another website, it needs more love letters. Her site The World Needs More Love Letters  is a brilliant display of how one person can create loving grace.

Be inspired by listening to her tell her story:


I'm in. I'm all in. I believe in the power of little acts of kindness. What might seem random isn't really all the random at all. I'm certain of the power of human kindness and how that loving energy weaves itself around the universe. God's network is greater than we can ever comprehend. If we send a good vibe out there, God will make it connect in his majestic way. 



I just want to add something cool to the whole "God's got a hand in this" message I'm trying to convey. I ran into the office supply store to pick up some needed supplies. As I walked up I was thinking that I wished there were some inexpensive cards or stationary for my own addition to Hannah's movement. I found sets of note cards and stationary marked down to 25 cents! That's a quarter of a dollar people! How cool is that?

Grab your favorite pen. Pull out that stationary you've always wanted to use. Need some encouraging words today? Try jotting what you would love to hear yourself on a note and send it out to lift another's spirit. 


Sunday, September 9, 2012

Don't Order the Regret...You'll Regret It

www.idlehearts.com

I've been waiting for a nice cool morning for a while now. The garden has needed tending and the weather people promised a cool front that would drop temps down into the 60's. Mother Nature delivered a beautiful morning today which is a huge treat over the 104 degrees we tackled yesterday.

Coffee mug in hand, field jacket over my jammies and clomping in my garden boots I set out to enjoy the treat of a cool morning. I had anticipation as if it was a snow day and I was running out to play. 

I sat a bit while sipping my coffee so that I could catch my barings. While I enjoyed my caffeinated goodness I watched our visiting hummingbirds buzz around the patio. One of our feeders has pretty flowers painted on the sides. The artist drew beautiful petals that really throw one little fella off. At first he'd feverishly peck at the glass. "Tick! Tick! Tick!" Now, he drinks from the spout but every now and then presses his beak against the painted flower petals.  

Once the coffee kicked in I took off around the corner to get some work done. I had forgotten how much joy and peace it gives me to piddle around out there. Pacing myself so that I wouldn't over extend myself I snipped back summer plants. 

It was a tough year for gardening. The heat was really hard on everything, including me. I just didn't have it in me to tend to each plant like I should have. As I snipped apart my basil plants I was sad that I didn't keep up with them to harvest the seed. A butterfly fluttered by and I was mad at myself for not starting dill plants inside so it would be ready for the swallowtail arrivals. 

If only...I should've...If I would've...I wish I had...YUCK! What the heck was that? Was that the foul stench of REGRET lofting it's way into my happy space? Yes. Yes it was. 

Regret is one of the useless of emotions that we posses as humans. How much energy do we drain on regretting when we can really use that energy in the current moment? 

Look, none of us are perfect and if you're trying to pick yourself up the last thing you need to be focusing on is stupid stuff that happened in the past. It will taint your frame of mind and you'll never see clear to a happy day with stupid regrets weighing you down. 

If you find yourself facing the same topic that you find regretful perhaps it's time to address it head on. Maybe jot it down on a piece of paper and "pros and cons" it out until you can find a conclusion. 

I don't regret not posting the pic I snapped of my Mom, pre-op for eye surgery on Facebook. It was hilarious really. She looked so cute with her hat on, garage sale type dot sticker over the eye to be operated on. Her expression was priceless and I just knew my sis would love it. My Mom said that it wasn't fair and it wasn't nice. Well...I am nice. And I could hear my Dad's voice say that it wasn't nice. So, I deleted it. That I still regret.