This is a beautiful story.
Not a new story, as those go, but still freshening and as heartwarming as the day it was first aired. It tells a story that is timeless. Of kindness. Of empathy and care.
It is a story of a regular man who did something quite extraordinary and by that touched the hearts of many along the route. Literally.
This won’t take long–not even three minutes, actually–but it will make your day.
Watch and smile.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/9hnbmml8fOY
Little Emily will melt your heart.
Not only precociously verbal, adorable, and poised, she also has empathy, kindness, unflinching generosity, and a huge soul unconstrained by her little body.
Good for her! Good for her parents for advocating caring, recognizing empathy in their child, and sensitively giving her a way to provide a kindness. Good for Uncle Matthew, too … for first giving a haircut to the doll … (love that old trunk booster, man!)
May kindness flow so that unnecessary pain no longer finds foothold and loving actions shine like this child’s heart of gold.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwQZggdZrOo
It is time …
Time to move your clocks ahead one hour.
Time to lose a little sleep …
Time to gain an hour of daylight, and swoops of sunshine …
Time to hopefully convince Spring to actually come!
A moment of Trivia:
Most of the United States abides by this “springing ahead.” However, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands … and for some reason, Arizona (??) don’t ‘do’ Daylight Savings Time (DST). They don’t move their clocks, don’t gain another hour. They remain firmly on one time year round. Arizona, for example, chooses to remain on Mountain Standard Time.
(Actually, speaking of Arizona–the ONLY mainland North American State averse to DST–is super-confusing even when it comes to time. You see, the Navajo areas DO move to DST, while the rest of Arizona does not. So just be aware, that if you live in Arizona, asking “what’s the time?” between March and October, is a potentially confusing question, and depends on who you ask and where you are … If you’re anywhere else on the US mainland, you’re good. Move your clocks. Even Indiana decided to join the rest of the Union for DST.)
Spring forward into safety!
Use the change to Daylight Savings Time to change the batteries on your smoke alarm and Carbon-Monoxide detector. Most fire deaths this winter were due to non-working smoke-alarms or carbon-monoxide detectors. Take a moment to change those batteries. You may be saving lives.
Springing into Spring!
May this Springing Forward remind the weather that the time has come for new shoots and flowers, for hatchlings and chicks, goslings and fawns, bunnies and puppies, for newness and cuteness to melt (some snow) and hearts …
Outlawed Hope cover
“An amazing book!”
“One of the best!”
“Thrilling!”
“A sublime read!”
“Outstanding!”
“Brilliant, enchanting story telling …”
“A captivating and addicting page turner!”
“A winner!”
“Marvelously written, fascinating book!”
“Na’ama Yehuda has written a gem of a read!”
“Provocative, introspective, and hopeful … read it, enjoy it, and most importantly, discuss it with your reading circle.”
THANK YOU, ALL!
Want to take a peek? See below …
“Outlawed Hope” by Na’ama Yehuda (Published December 4, 2013)
Synopsis: Abandoned as an infant, adopted, and then forgotten until seventeen, Aimee was raised for an unknown future. Outlawed Hope is her story, the story of the Outlaws who birthed her, the Society that raised her, and the infant she finds. Aimee needs to save the infant from a future she knows too well. Through dangerous close calls, Aimee discovers that she isn’t who she thought she was, and nor are those around her. Why was she abandoned? Who found her? For the truth, Aimee must face stunning revelations. She is trained to comply, but cannot—it would doom her and the baby she struggles to protect. Can she find another way, and at what cost? Outlawed Hope is a story of loss, unexpected empathy, brutality, and heartfelt resilience.
Advance reviews:
“A story of escape and capture, the power of hope, and the heroics necessary to ensure a child’s future.” Meredith Blevins, The Hummingbird Wizard (The Mystic Café)
“Reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Outlawed Hope is a compelling, fast-paced novel set in a less-than-utopian society. We feel the race of Aimee’s pulse as we follow the twists and turns of her journey, meeting various characters who help, hinder, sabotage, and heal both her past and future. In this first novel by Na’ama Yehuda, change is given the ride of its life and hope is anything but outlawed.” Adele Ryan McDowell, Author of Amazon Bestseller Balancing Act: Reflections, meditations and Coping Strategies for Today’s Fact Paced Whirl.
Available on:
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/outlawed-hope-naama-yehuda/1117555597
iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id773444300
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/Search/Query?fcmedia=Book&query=1230000200869
Needing some guidance? Oh, have I got a great spot for you to go to!!
If your life feels upended, out of whack, overwhelmed–here’s a splendid path for you to follow–check it out: Adele and the Penguin–making sense of an upside down world, is a delightful site in general, and to top this off Adele is currently running a series of practical, spiritual, and path-enlightening entries on how to manage life’s upheaval and find light aplenty through dark tunnels of tough stuff.
Down to earth, high on spirit.
Read it! To borrow Adele’s oft expression: This is fab!
In this awesome series, there are two installments down, one to go–read them now, so you have time to mill it over before the third one makes a show.
First Installment: Challenges for today’s brave Lightworkers and Healers
Second Installment: Initiation Portals for today’s brave Lightworkers and Healers
Third one coming soon and I am absolutely sure–worth it, so be in the know!
[While you’re at the Penguin, poke around. You’ll find gems in every link. Great stuff abounds!]
In response to today’s entry re: portals--some thoughts, and much gratitude to the soulful words and instructing teachings of Adele (seriously, check out her website, you will not be sorry, and you’ll likely get a good laugh while you’re at it–she’s serious fun!):
So very important, Adele, and so true. For, yes … for the good to be distinct, we must KNOW what is bad, how to recognize it and how to forge a path to emerge from it into new homes.
Like the oscillation of a pendulum, the higher we want it to go to one side, the lower it must go to the other. It cannot go up without repeatedly dipping down. We cannot soar without plummeting. It is comforting to know this is how it is done …
For light to be defined, we must know the depth of darkness. It is the bog of hopelessness that teaches the power of a ray of sunlight and a handhold. It is the horror of cruelty that magnifies an act of kindness and instills the absolute knowledge of the transforming power of empathy and love.
Let there be light in the darkness; let there be a handhold to have in the depths; let there be hope in the void; let there be help in the desperate corners of pain; let there be friendship in the loneliest places, let there be love to weave strength with in the most desolate place. Let there be new rising bright, rising wise, from the old.
There is something utterly contagious about laughter, especially the belly-laugh of children, the hilarity of babies and giggling infants, the impossible delight of guffawing kids …
Laughter rarely fails to make me laugh!
So am sharing this video — with a practically sure-proof laughter-guarantee — in case you need some laughter-medicine today …
May no day pass without points of merry,
and may there be laughter in your heart, each night, each morning,
each precious day.
Merry be.
Find joy in the places where sunshine streams inwards
Find joy in the friendships that sparkle the heart
Double over with mirth
Let belly laugh jingle
And all worry scatter
Find joy in a dance, in art, in creation
In mirroring pleasure
Where words do not matter
Find joy in belonging
In giggles with one like no other
In nature come close
And delight spilling over
And He Duly Obliged…. (click link to go to original posting at thekindness.com blog)
Lovely!
Good for his mama for teaching him to be discerning in seeking help AND for letting him know that he CAN seek help if there’s something too big or difficult for him to manage. As for the task itself–I think the match is perfect! A cop ones told me that police officers tie very good knots–the last thing you want is to have a lace go loose when you’re chasing a suspect…
Good call, kiddo!
(and good job, Mr. Cop!)
Lovely! Comes to show how good people are everywhere, and how some go the extra mile to make the world a better place for all of us–one small thing at a time, one extraordinary person doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways at a time…
Do you know a story about someone who does good ‘just because’? Comment below and share it, so we can all know about them, and join in with a smile!
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