Day 55 - offer someone a free drink: For the first time ever, I was turned down at a Starbuck's from being able to buy a drink for someone else. I was inside, and at both the counter and the drive thru, I was told that I could not buy a drink for anyone because there was no one for whom to buy. Lesson #55: As we have been learning in hot yoga instructor training, sometimes being available for someone is much better than offering help that they are not ready to receive. We are reading the book, The Yamas and Niyamas in my yoga teacher training, and the first chapter speaks to ahimsa, or nonviolence, and even asserts that offering help could be a form of violence if it is not sought at the time. Day 56 - give balloons to everyone on my grandmother's hospital floor: I tried on one day to ask the gift shop to put helium in the balloons and learned that to put helium in twelve balloons times the amount it would cost per balloon was outside of my current budget, so I proceeded back to her hospital room and confirmed what I had when she was in intensive care - that blowing up a balloon with my own resources would allow it to be used in a game of pass the balloon; however, it would not be sufficient for allowing them to float so that other patients who may not be as cognizant would be able to see them in their rooms. The next day, I asked my mom if she would be willing to go half on the helium for the balloons and she agreed and we proceeded to pay for them before the gift shop attendant remembered to ask what type of balloons we had and confirm that those would not work with the helium. Lesson #56: Do what you can, when you can, with everything you have. Although I did not have the resources at the time to pull off the balloon random act of kindness, it is a good idea for another day! Day 57 - buy food for the hungry: I encountered a gentleman outside of the pharmacy when I went to pick up something for my grandmother and when I asked him if he needed anything, he replied that he hadn't eaten yet today. So I asked him what he would like and together we formed a plan that would bring him the nourishment he needed while allowing me to make a cost effective purchase. When I returned with his happy meal, I also asked him if he would like any fruit, as I had just gone to the grocery store and had opted for the less healthy choices based on my lack of knowledge of what would be available. He confirmed that he could eat an orange and I exchanged this with him for the toy that came with the meal. Day #57: Sometimes it is about listening to what others tell us they need instead of giving them what we think would be best for them!
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AuthorValerie Ellis, who is in alignment with the Black Lives Matter Movement and everyone whose life is impacted, now or before, by times of social injustice. Archives
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