Tag Archives: Kindness

Something Good

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1. This quote: “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” ~Ernest Hemingway

2. From Marc and Angel Hack Life, 10 Critical Questions You Must Ask Yourself and 10 Life Lessons People Learn Too Late.

3. Kindness in the Smallest of Things on Kind Over Matter by Erica Staab, in which she says “And I was reminded yet again that it is the littlest pieces of kindness that we can offer to another, to truly see each other, to be present to the moment and bear witness to their pain, their joy, their struggle, their celebration- it is these little pieces that are worth everything.” Amen.

4. I am absolutely over the elections, but this recap is pretty cool.

5. Authors Anne Lamott and Cheryl Strayed discuss life and writing.

6. Think insurance as an entrepreneur is a “bad bet”? Think again (aka My response to Leo Babauta of Zen Habits and his ridiculous advice) from the fierce Michelle Ward. I’ve said it before: it’s dangerous to think that just because you’ve decided something is right for you, works for you, makes sense to you, that makes it a BIG TRUE for everyone.

7. Happy Birthday to Me by Sunni Chapman on The Daily Breadcrumb. I linked to this yesterday, but it’s so good, I really want to be sure you didn’t miss it.

8. Instagram created user profiles. I was already using Instagrid for the same, but here’s mine on Instagram. There’s a rumor that I’m getting an iPhone for Christmas, so I might be using this a lot more.

9. In related news, Portrait: A Documentary About a Popular Instagrammer and a Pro Photographer.

10. The Zen of Dogs: On Mindfulness, Compassion, and Connection on Tiny Buddha.

11. In related news, this cuteness:

12. Digital Detox: Unplug For The Weekend on Be More with Less by Courtney Carver.

13. Blog Mood Boards from decor8. Can’t wait to do one of these.

14. This quote from the Dalai Lama: “It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily lives. If we find we cannot help another, the least we can do is to desist from harming them. We must not cheat others or lie to them. We must be honest human beings, sincere human beings.”

15. An interview with Cheryl Strayed on The Happiness Project, I Challenge You to Walk for 20 Minutes and Not Feel Better by the End of It.

16. DEAR SUGAR, The Rumpus Advice Column #92: Your Invisible Inner Terrible Someone, in which Cheryl Strayed advises “There’s a crazy lady living in your head. I hope you’ll be comforted to hear that you’re not alone. Most of us have an invisible inner terrible someone who says all sorts of nutty stuff that has no basis in truth.”

17. This video made me cry:

18. Choosing Joy from Corbae Café.

19. This quote: “When you bring consciousness to anything, things begin to shift.” ~Eve Ensler

20. My Inner Wonder Woman from Sas’ Magical Mystery Tour, in which Sas says:

There is a quiet solidity that comes from this turning inwards: what psychologists call a state of self-referral. This is when we identify primarily with our inner selves. In this state we have “an internal sense of joy regardless of what is happening around us because we aren’t identified with transient objects or events”. I read this and it felt like a clicking into place. Any fear of not being enough has dropped away, there is no compulsion to compare or compete, no struggle for approval or to have power over others. I have so much more to give, feel super-connected and my intuition is on fire right now.

She is on fire right now, about to launch her new project, (can’t wait!).

An Open Love Letter to Patti Digh, Mary Anne Radmacher, and Karma

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poster gift from Patti Digh to her mailing list

I am cradled today in the comfort of kindness, the awareness that every kindness you ever offer somehow finds it’s way back to you. In the simplest way, this is karma–every action has a consequence. Today, I am humbled by it, my heart softened, opened by the practice of generosity, and the kindness that has found it’s way to me because of it. I feel tender and raw, sad and weepy because of it, but also so joyful and grateful.

card from Mary Ann Radmacher

Patti Digh is one of my favorite authors, humans. I have learned so much from her about showing up, keeping my heart open, cultivating courage and compassion. She’s given me so much, and there is no way to repay that kind of gift directly or completely.

live shot of Patti during a virtual party for the launch of her new 37 days website, oh that smile!

And yet, at the end of this summer, I had an opportunity to help her, to give what I could give. Her husband was diagnosed with kidney cancer during a time when he had no health insurance and he needed an expensive surgery. The John F. Ptak Relief Fund was created and I was happy to donate, happy to offer some small kindness to a woman who’d already given me so much.

The story doesn’t end there. Just as I was about to make a donation, Mary Ann Radmacher announced on Facebook that the first ten people to make a $100 donation and contact her would get an original piece of her work. She’s an amazing artist and writer. I love everything she does. Her quote “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow” has offered me so much comfort in the past year.

To create my original piece, she asked for my most favorite colors (purples, blues and greens–colors of flowers, the ocean, and the trees), shape (infinity symbol) and most treasured iconic image (lotus flower). When the package arrived in the mail and I saw what she’d made, my heart was so full it felt like it would break.

Holy Wow. I can’t stop staring at it. And that’s not all, she also sent me a signed copy of her new book, Honey in Your Heart: Ways to See and Savor the Simple Good Things. Do you understand, kind and gentle reader? She didn’t have to do that. The book wasn’t part of the deal, a deal that was already super sweet, above and beyond, but she sent it along anyway, added a bonus gift. One generous act beget a kindness that, as it was passed along from person to person, heart to heart, grew so big, got so bright. I have faith that it won’t stop with this.

“Honey is a sweetness, occurring as the result of creatures doing what comes from acting according to their nature,” says Mary Anne in the introduction to her new book. We humans are fundamentally good, inherently compassionate and wise, and this sweetness, these kind acts (Patti giving, me giving to her, and Mary Anne giving to me because I gave to Patti), this infinity loop of generosity and love is, I believe with my whole heart, just that: the result of creatures doing what comes from acting according to their nature.