My Kinders’ art, love, and affirmations are powerful.
This was given to me months ago. I misplaced it a few days later, and with very pleasant surprise, found it today.
It never ceases to amaze me how much power is in a child’s affirmation!
It touched me when I received it and when I look at it now. I’m nearly 62 years old, and still, the words of a 6 year old have the power to touch my heart and mind, and remind me of a truth about myself. I am beautiful. Perhaps part of my beauty is that I can set aside my own angst and perfectionism and learn from a 6 year old.
Maybe you too need to be reminded about the truth of who you are. My Kinders’ would gladly bless you with their love and affirmations. Feel free to substitute your name for mine.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling weighed down by the demands and difficulties of life and work. I’ve been feeling exhausted, worn out, and unsure. Stress, tiredness, and burdens, are annoyingly loud and obnoxious companions on our journey. They constantly speak. At times they slap us in the face with their loudness, at other times they whisper incessantly. Like all deceivers, they sound like they’re speaking the truth — but they’re not.
The truth is I am weighed down, I am tired, I am feeling a bit unsure — AND I am strong, brave, and deeply loved, with a big beautiful brain, and awesome heart, and some life-giving creativity. So, I’ve been choosing to make time these days to rest, to restore, and to be creative.
My affirmational art journaling continues this year. It’s helping me stay grounded in the truth. Each day I actively look for the story I want to tell myself. I search for the truths I want to save in my journal so I can read them now and in the future. And, I take time to create.
The entries look so different this year. I started in September with a compass, and a favorite pencil, eraser and fountain pen. I love using these tools, and the concentric circles are great canvases for ideas. It was interesting to watch as they developed individually and as a group. Each time I drew, constraints and possibilities greeted me. Sometimes I loved the results, other times not so much, but I always enjoyed the process. I’ve decided to keep the images black and white in order to emphasize design rather than color.
December I switched from concentric circles to ones that are separate or interlocked. My plan is to introduce color into the designs as well.
I did 66 different concentric circle designs. So far I have done 27 circle designs. Will I be able to think divergently — with fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration — and create many more circular designs? So far I see fluency, originality and elaboration. Now to allow myself to move from design elements I find pleasing, to discover other satisfying possibilities. No matter how many I make, or how divergently I am able to think, I continue the process and that is good.
I hope you too engage in a process that blesses you during these beautiful days of winter.
I’ve been thinking a lot about kindness lately. Kindness makes a difference in the difficulties surrounding me — whether they be deeply personal, or impact the entire human race. Kind thoughts, words, and actions assuage feelings, soothe souls, and make things right, or at least, more right. On the other hand, unkind thoughts, words, and actions, make everything more difficult, and more dark.
I’m saddened by how remarkably easy it is for us as humans to adopt attitudes, behaviors, and words that are unkind. Lately, to make matters worse, unkind acts seem to be more readily accepted, magnified, justified, and even cheered on in news reports and on social media.
Enough is enough.
I’m reminded of the scripture “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what ever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.” (Philippians 4) Kindness in thought, word, and deed, is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, so I am going to think and speak of them a bit.
Let me tell you about an act of kindness done directly for me. I got an email the other day with the subject “Have courage!” These three young friends learned I wasn’t well, and decided to do something about it. They wanted me to find courage — to fight, to win, to get well, and to be ok in the process. Their desire was kind. And I am incredibly grateful for it.
But, they weren’t done. They didn’t just wish me well, and encourage me to be strong. They chose to think and act with creativity and kindness, and actually send me courage! How fantabulous are they? The canvases are en route and I can’t wait to receive them and hang them.
Courage, love, and kindness coming my way!
These girls reminded me of Leon Logothetis. If you don’t know Leon, it’s worth your while to give him a look. His gig and mission is highlighting the good in humanity, and if you ask me, being a champion of kindness. His definition of kindness is: The act of truly seeing someone and making them feel less alone.
That is what these three girls did. They saw me. As my kindergartners would say “They REALLY saw you, Ms. James!” and they made me feel less alone.
I chose the title of this post — Courage through Kindness — to highlight the courage that I received through these lovely humans’ kind thoughts and deeds. But as I wrote the words, I thought “Kindness is a form of courage.” To choose to think and act in kind ways is courageous — and fantabulous. I am honored and blessed to know these three and their families. Their kindness and love is powerful. I trust their love and kindness — and they themselves — will only grow in might, beauty, and influence. Reminding myself of that fact, I release a bit of worry, and breathe a bit easier for the present, and the future.
Life lived with relentless creativity 