To the Guardians, a thank you

This one goes out to all the Guardians-- regardless of gender-- the Mothers and Fathers, who are the action verb personified in deeds as well as in thoughts.

This one goes out to the Guardians who take the role as seriously as a surgeon would performing his/her first surgery.

This one goes out to all those who impart loving wisdom to their charges, regardless of age (so what if your "child" is 50?). And, at the same time, are open to learning from them as well.

This one goes out to those who strive to lead from a place of love, those who genuinely, consciously desire a better life experience for those under there guardianship.

You are Mother. You are Father. Sometimes you are both. You are royalty in the hearts of those who salute you by those titles and think upon you with love.

You mirror to child how to navigate the world as best as you can, as best as you know thus far, and at the same time champion child's own inner explorer.

To the Mothers/Fathers, who would like to shield child from the path filled with potential bruises and seeming mistakes, but knows that said child must live his/her life as best as s/he can, and so Father/Mother must trust that Mother/Father has shared the best tools and allow child to build from that loving foundation.

To you, I say, "Thank you." I know it can be so hard. But please know you are making a difference-- not just in the lives of your children, but in the lives of countless others who will interact with your children.  I applaud all of your efforts-- all of it, all of it, counts.

And from my heart, and with all my heart, I wish you many blessings ❤-- A citizen of the world

A Wave and a Smile on the Subway

Sitting on the No. 5 train in Brooklyn headed uptown, I glanced around the mostly empty subway car.  Towards my right, across from me but about six feet down, sat a family of three. A mom, her son and her little daughter.

The little one was asleep in the stroller. She had on a red winter cap and a red coat with heart patterns all over it-- except for the picture of Elmo on the bottom left hand corner.  Lying on her chest was a yellow pacifier.  The Mother was sitting on the edge of the cornflower blue grey seat, leaning towards the stroller, as she scrolled through her silver metallic colored phone.  The young boy, maybe 7 or 8 years old, sat to her right in a black coat, with his blue and black book bag still on his back.  He sat in a manner that brought to my mind images of young boys at church on their best behavior.

At one point, the little girl started to wake up and her mom, alerted to the slightest shift in her daughter, was already looking at her, waiting quietly as the girl journeyed back to the land of consciousness.  When the little one finally, drowsily, opened her eyes, mom and child exchanged a smile before mom placed the pacifier in the girl's mouth. Then, the little one made eye contact with her brother and slowly waved at him. He gave her an answering smile, leaned forward and waved back.

Her little wave, his answering one, the smile on his face, her smiling response, was all so sweet and so unexpected to me, I couldn't help but smile too.

Listening to the Rain

Without warning, the rain announced her presence with a roar.  Suddenly silence was under siege as rain drops pelted the earth like bullets, launching a surprise attack-- physically and emotionally-- on those who, until now, had no cause to fear assault from one so gentle in name.

Three Experiences before 12 noon

First up, because I was about 40 minutes early, I found myself standing outside the shop section of a Yoga studio.  As I stood there looking at the window display of crystals and singing bowls, a little orange and white furred dog and his human companion, crossed behind me.  The next thing I knew, the little dog had come back and I watched his reflection as he nudged at my ankles.  The human companion apologized, but I was so touched by this gesture of sweetness, that I turned around and spent some time stroking, and petting the dog's coat, all the while saying, "Thank you so much for taking the time to say, 'hello' to me!" The dog stayed by my ankles throughout the exchange and it was just such a lovely experience to have.

The second experience took place about 15 minutes later, as I now sat on the gray wood bench in front the Yoga studio. By that point a few people had made their way across the sidewalk in front of me in both directions.  But one lady stopped and engaged me in conversation.  She was a member of the older citizens of the world club.  Her thick, curly, salt and pepper hair framed her face under her knitted winter hat.  She wore sunglasses, and in her hand was a styrofoam cup which, I imagined, temporarily housed a delicious hot beverage perfect for 32 degree weather.

She asked if the studio was opening soon.  I told her I believed it would in 15 minutes. And then, to my surprise, she invited me to come to her place of business about 4 doors down, saying I could be warm and sit on her very comfortable couch. Surprised and charmed, I thanked her for her kindness and generosity but said I would continue to wait. As she walked away, she assured me that if I changed my mind, the offer was still on the table.  The offer was so random and so sweet and so specific in the warmth of its proffered hospitality, that I felt momentarily transported to a different time and place -- a time and place I desired to experience more of-- particularly from strangers-- in this my 21st century life.

My third experience took place about two hours later as I turned a corner and merged into the opposite direction of the oncoming pedestrian traffic.  Suddenly, I heard someone say, "Do!" And another voice chimed in, "A deer, a female deer!"
"Re!"
"A drop of golden sun!"
"Mi!"
"A name, I call myself!"
Out of the corner of my eye, singing the Do Re Mi song in this fashion, was a bundled up lady pushing a stroller. She took the first line and then the little one in the stroller followed up with the next. So committed were they that even as our distance from each other increased, and their voices faded, I had no doubt they would finish singing the song. And it made me smile.  And it made me want to sing along, too🙂

Acknowledging the light amidst the Stress

When we're navigating a particularly difficult period of time, when we don't really want to do what needs to be done but have made a kind of peace with the having to do it, may we remember that not all of it "has to" feel hard. There can be experiences of grace-- regardless of whether they're few and far between. There can be conscious connections to insights-- even just one "aha" can assist in contributing a difference in our perception of the road we're traveling.  So, here's to acknowledging the "simple" gifts we may normally take for granted when, seemingly, steeped in navigating particularly rough terrain. Hope your weekend is filled with an abundance of quiet (or perhaps not so quiet) joys😉Cheering you on🙂

Perspective.

Perspective

Two Observed on the Sidewalks of Brooklyn

It was a rainy Monday afternoon as people crowded the sidewalk next to the stops for the B41 buses. In this part of town, there was the B41 stop for those headed towards Bergen Beach, and a separate one for those headed in the direction of Kings Plaza.  And so, some were waiting next to their respective pick up points.  Some, without umbrellas, were lined up a few feet away in front of various storefronts -- even those boasting the barest of canopies. And for others, the sidewalk was just another stretch of land to conquer in their quest to get from one destination to the next.

With both my hands employed carrying rather heavy, cumbersome shopping bags, and the handle of my umbrella peeking out from the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens canvas bag perched on my right shoulder, I  was one of those under the barely-there-canopied section.

As I stood there waiting for my bus--which was running on a Sunday schedule and therefore did not bode well in regards to  frequency--, I saw two things that made me smile.

First up was a little girl, possibly 5/6/7 years of age, carrying a shopping bag and skipping behind an adult female guardian.  As I watched her skip, I thought to myself, "Sure. Why not?"  Next to the guardian, and matching her step for speed walking step, was another little girl, possibly the skipping girl's sister, who also carried a shopping bag. Both girls were dressed in identical purple winter coats. At one point, finding herself falling behind, the skipper broke out into a run.   She caught up before the guardian turned around.

My other observation was that of a young man with Down's syndrome, enjoying the music playing through his headphones.  He had on a dapper looking newsboy cap, a jacket, slacks, and a backpack.  As far as I could see, he was the only one standing in the rain without an umbrella.  And while his headphones did a stellar job of keeping his music for his ears only, he was clearly enjoying it--so much so-- that every once in awhile he would stop his leisurely pacing to gesture-- as if mimicking the artist-- and then take the channeling further by sharing a lyric or two, before bopping his head once again in silent enjoyment.  I can't be 100% certain, but I think he was listening to rap music.  The truth is this would normally annoy me-- when I was in junior high, one of my younger brothers insisted on rapping out loud to the music playing through his headphones while we walked to the store or the local library. I would always ask him to enjoy it in silence, and in the way of younger siblings, that was interpreted as, "do it over and over again." But this young man really looked like he was having a great time, and so I thought, "Sure. Why not?"