Dear Reader:

As I rode by Hutchinson Square Friday morning…my eyes lit up with joy! The most beautiful sight beheld me… dozens of gorgeous pastel umbrellas filled the lawn in the park area. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going on!

So I parked my car and talked to a wonderful lady, Paulette, who informed me it was a tribute to all of us, the living, to remind us just how precious life is. She works with AGAPE Hospice. When she finished telling me about her work…I remembered Kelly Rae Roberts (Kindness Can Change Everything) poster and sincerely told her….“I see you, I honor you, and you are not alone.” 

She was quite touched and explained..each umbrella represented someone who had recently passed but also it symbolized their life and the lives of the loved ones left behind. We are never alone in life or death. (As beautiful as each umbrella!)

It made me remember what my weekly Spotlight on Kindness website  said:

(Editor’s Note) …“We amplify what we give space to. If our focus is always on what is wrong, then we amplify the negative. While media tries to focus us on what is wrong in the world to grab our attention, we must now not lose focus on all that is right and good in our communities. Let’s pay attention to the good! ” 

(David Brooks-journalist) The Big Story You Don’t Read About 

“A lot of American journalism is based on a mistaken theory of change…”The world will get better when we show where things have gone wrong. A lot of what we do in our business is expose error, cover problems and identify conflict. 

The problem with this is that we leave people feeling dis-empowered and depressed. These days most Americans have sunk into a “toxic vortex” ….terrified of the future…and literally frozen…not knowing what to do…so fearful we have become less mobilized to take action, not more. 

Problems can certainly be exposed…but there should also be time left in the programs to describe how the problems are being tackled… the search for solutions is always more exciting than the problems themselves. 

Politics should only influence and in hindsight does…10% of our lives…the most important social change events happening are the 90% of our lives influenced by relationship and community. 

News casts should be 90% focused on great solutions being discovered and implemented within our communities and 10% on politics and world news…(those broadcasts that tend to leave us frustrated and completely underwhelmed by the seemingly inability to make positive changes for the people…we the people.) 

So when we come across examples of people in our own community like Agape Hospice...taking time to demonstrate and explain their services and their kindness to our loved ones in their final days….we should applaud the implementations of such positive outreach programs. These are the programs that will affect just about everyone and every family at some point in their lives.

So until tomorrow…”Power to the People…We, the People“…who can spend 90% of our lives reaching out to help others in our communities here and afar. We actually have a much better success rate at helping people than our 10% political counterparts.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Guess who bloomed today…my “Mr. Lincoln” rose with another bud about to pop…probably tomorrow. So beautiful! Look at my sanctuary’s beauty, inside and out, that comforts, consoles, and lifts me up every day of my life.