Day 61: give balloons out at the hospital - I thought it would be a nice idea to give balloons out on either the children's floor or in the Children's Mercy Hospital, so I went to get the balloons aired up. First I went back to the Dollar Tree, which is where I originally purchased the balloons, and the employee with whom explained that although they could not put helium in latex balloons, she thought that Dillon's could. So I was on to Dillon's to ask the floral department, and the young lady who worked there told me with a smile on her face (to match the smiles on the balloons) that she could do it in about 10 minutes! After she finished airing up the balloons, I headed to the hospital, parked on the yellow floor (to match the yellow balloons), and first stopped at the pediatrics unit. When the nurses said "yes" initially and buzzed me in, I went to the nurses station and was greeted with about 12 smiling and apologetic nurses who told me that the hospital has a policy against latex for allergy reasons. As I told them I understood and explained that this was a "rejection therapy" project, they thanked me and graciously made me feel welcome on their floor. Leaving the hospital, I thought of the park with the zoo nearby, and that perhaps there would be some children there who would like the balloons. It was still open for half an hour, and the sun was still up, so I was on my way! Lesson 61 - perseverance pays off, and smiles are contagious :). I found a family getting out of the car when I arrived at the park, so immediately I was able to give away 4 balloons (and one flew away as I was handing them out and both brother and sister were reaching for them at the same time). Then I was down to 6, and I headed to the playground to hand out the final balloons, asking parents if their children could have them as much as possible. It wasn't long before I headed to the zoo and saw a cute beaver trying to gnaw its way out of the enclosure, beautiful birds with feeding time fish, and lots of water where the turtles live. On my way out, one of the kids from the initial family said, "hey, the balloons are gone," and I thought to myself, "how nice it is to be noticed." Day 62: pick up someone else's coffee - I was extremely fortunate to receive a Starbuck's gift card from a friend for a birthday gift (thanks, April!), so I was able to "pay it forward' by covering the coffee in the car behind me. Lesson 62 - In my Hot Asana Yoga teacher training we just read the "yama" of Brahmacharya, i.e. non-excess. Although my Starbuck's purchase was just one drink, and the purchase in the car behind me was enough to amount to my getting one more drink out of my card, one more drink is all I need! Day 63: give a care package to someone living on the street - this was my third care package in a sequence of care packages that I purchased together, and the woman who received it was extremely thankful and exchanged more human connection with me in that brief interaction that I have received in several hours' presence in the company of those who do are not currently in need. Lesson 63 - patience is a virtue, and I passed up several homeless (as we currently label them in this country) people before I felt the gentle tug of the still, small voice to give to this woman in need.
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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
July 2022
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