kindness

Well, it’s definitely Monday

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First thing first. Deepest condolences to our friend, Donna B. McNicol, whose family suffered a tragic loss. So sorry, Donna, and sorrier still that I didn’t see your comment until this morning. Our thoughts are with you.

Right now is a difficult time for many people, and even more so for others. So as we head into our weeks, maybe so much heavier than we were before, I offer one thought: kindness. Let’s try to be kind.

And I don’t mean in the face of bigotry or injustice or cruelty, because meeting those evils with kindness rarely bears fruit. I mean kindness in the face of misunderstandings, of differences of opinion.

Please listen to people. If your first instinct is to lash out, maybe think about it for a moment. If we are all on the same side, let’s act like we are on the same side.

We don’t have to agree about everything, it’s OK to see things differently. But if someone comes with sincerity, let’s react with sincerity.

If someone comes with a lack of sincerity, however, all bets are off.

Just remember we’re all raw right now. Some people are more accustomed to this feeling than others, and that’s reality. So let’s learn something from the people who manage it and move on anyway.

With all that said, onward we go.

Like my political side? Read my opinion pieces here.

Check out  my full-length novels: 

Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   

Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 

 Her Cousin Much Removed

 The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.

And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s free!

Peruse Montraps Publishing.

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Monday Thoughts for a Monday Blog

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By Marcobeltrametti [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

It’s amazing how, even with all that’s going on, the Mondays keep on coming. Round and round we go.

Less despairing than last week, though I can’t tell you why, aside from the heartening images of people all over the country (and the world!) standing up for families. If you missed it and want to see some, check this out. Maybe things haven’t yet changed but they feel as though they could, and that’s the difference between darkness and light.

Which brings me to this tweet (!) from the Dalai Lama:

There is so much truth in that paragraph and so much work to do to get there. But it’s a place to start, a direction in which to head. We all deserve peace of mind, every one of us, and ours shouldn’t be predicated on the misery of someone else.

Maybe that’s too much for a Monday.

Or maybe it’s just right for a Monday. Maybe we can look to this week with the intention of kindness, with the intention of education, of being educated.

Please don’t confuse this idea with the hollow calls for “civility” from people who are anything but civil in their words, their ideas, their deeds. Such calls are nothing more than demands for submission and for acquiescence. There’s no desire for real “civility;” only the desire to make oppression easier.

So let’s not do that.

Let us be kind to the anxious, let us be kind to the people living, quite rightly in fear. Let us educate those who would perpetuate it.

And we’re off.

Like my political side? Read my opinion pieces here.

Check out  my full-length novels: 

Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   

Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 

 Her Cousin Much Removed

 The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.

And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s free!

Peruse Montraps Publishing.

The Extraordinary Promise of a Pencil

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Time to spread a little kindness, and even do some good with the purchase of an ebook. Adam Braun shares his story of creating change with very little, and shares how you can do the same. The proceeds from this book go to Pencils of Promise, Braun’s nonprofit organization.

 

The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change by Adam Braun. Amazon for $11.04. The riveting story of how a young man turned $25 into more than 200 schools around the world and the guiding steps anyone can take to lead a successful and significant life.

Adam Braun began working summers at hedge funds when he was just sixteen years old, sprinting down the path to a successful Wall Street career. But while traveling he met a young boy begging on the streets of India, who after being asked what he wanted most in the world, simply answered, “A pencil.” This small request led to a staggering series of events that took Braun backpacking through dozens of countries before eventually leaving one of the world’s most prestigious jobs to found Pencils of Promise, the organization he started with just $25 that has since built more than 200 schools around the world.

The Promise of a Pencil chronicles Braun’s journey to find his calling, as each chapter explains one clear step that every person can take to turn your biggest ambitions into reality, even if you start with as little as $25. His story takes readers behind the scenes with business moguls and village chiefs, world-famous celebrities and hometown heroes. Driven by compelling stories and shareable insights, this is a vivid and inspiring book that will give you the tools to make your own life a story worth telling.

*All proceeds from this book will support Pencils of Promise.