The Power of Kind

"Kill them with kindness"
You've heard it before.
My parents would use that phrase when my brother
and I were dealing with people that thrived on mean.

You know those people too.
I've never understood that.
What joy can be achieved through mean?




I watch it every day...
People laugh at the pain of others- on TV and in real life.
They trip each other (literally and figuratively) and claim that they're friends.
Sure kids/teens might be more literal in their tripping, but adults do it too.
They set each other up to watch them squirm and eventually fail so that they can move ahead.
When did this happen?

My students have commented that I smile
and that I'm a nice, happy, positive person.
Good.
I'm glad that they see that, because I have to work
really hard at it every single day.
Sure some days are easier than others.
I'm really happy on a Saturday morning!

But I worry that people have forgotten the power of kind.
It is powerful.
It part of being joyful.
You need kindness in your world to maintain joy.
I can tell when my joy is being sucked away...
I can feel it like a cold seeping in.
My jaw tightens,
My shoulders scrunch up,
My sparkle fades,
and I have to fight against it.

It is a battle.
I just hope that society hasn't and won't surrendered yet.
Some days I worry that it has...
today was a day I worried about that.
I saw too much mean.
Rarely did I see kindness...
But that's just it...
I DID see kindness and it gives me hope.



I saw:
The swift, superhero speed movements
of one of my students to catch a falling table so that it wouldn't hurt another.




A hug to a crying friend.

A basketball team rally a win after losing every. single. other. game.

I saw friends, parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents cheering from the bleachers. Win or lose, they cheer, clap, give thumbs-up to their teams. They don't have to be there...but they are.

When you feel down, look for the joy.
Practice kindness.
It's a powerful force.
I believe it can change the world.
Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all practiced kindness every day?
I sure do.
Won't you join me?
Together we'll practice kindness and maybe,
just maybe,
we can change the world.

Hugs,
Lori

Happy Rescue Day!

One picture.

That's all it took.  Just one.

One look at this face and I knew.

That face and those four paws needed to be in my life.

How did I know?

I have no idea...it's just a feeling.

A feeling that your life would never be full without them.

A feeling that you had to go get them, wherever they were.

A guess that's how love at first sight feels.

I've never felt that with a guy with two legs,

but I definitely know the feeling with a guy with four paws.

 

We had never met.

He was in Yakima, Washington...I was in West Linn, Oregon.

He needed a home...He needed someone to help him get well.

I had a home needing a dog...

I had a hole in my heart that only a furry best friend could fill.

I guess you could call it a successful online relationship!

I didn't ask any questions about him.

Really, I didn't care.

All I knew was that I needed to have him in my life.

I knew that he was sick.

There was a month waiting period before he could be adopted.

I never asked what he had...

I didn't care what it was, because I would care for him.

I needed to care for someone, and he needed care = perfect combo.

I drove hours...

He had waited months...

Nervously I arrived at the house-run shelter

...not knowing what I would find.

I saw him...he saw me.

He cried at my feet, and my heart jumped.

It was done.

We were each others, to care for.

He was scared, so I gathered all 35 pounds of him in my arms

and carried him to my car.

I briefly asked about his personal and medical history.

This is everything that I heard...

-He and his sister were rescued from a home filled with feces. (Hoarder)

-They were the only pups to survive.

-They both had parvo, worms, and any other parasite that a dog could have.

-They had to fight for food.

-They had been very sick.

-They had both been "fixed".

That's it.

But, really...I didn't care.  Whatever he needed, he would get.

 

Miracles do happen.
Two lives changed forever.
One picture was all it took.

Murphy- Rescued, March 13, 2010
Lori- Rescued, March 13, 2010

Furry Friend Poetry

Inspiration is all around us. 

My head seems to be filled with

puppies, wagging tails,and dogs running free.

So it was no surprise to me when one of my favorite poems

that I wrote with the kids was about "Un-Chaining Aurora".

How could I not be inspired by that experience?!

Now, let me back up a bit...
Last week I started teaching a unit on poetry.
I was a little nervous myself...
...but we started off slow.
I emphasized that poetry didn't have to be all about trees, flowers, and nature.
It didn't have to rhyme.
It didn't have to be intimidating and scary.
You don't even have to worry about punctuation! Bonus!
Heck, it could also be about animals too.

Hmmm...
Why in the world would my students write so much poetry about animals?
Dogs...cats...horses?
Shocking!?!
Nah.
No surprise at all.
My students really took hold of that idea about animals,
particularly dogs and rolled with it.
I guess they knew the way straight into their teachers' heart. :0)
Just for fun, and to make your week a little brighter...

ANIMAL POETRY

Simile Poetry: Aren't these as cute as a kitten?

Another type of poetry that inspired the students to write about animals was

CONCRETE POETRY.

Farty? Really?  Okay, at least it's honest.

Guess which students were sitting next to each other during the activity? Yeah...tough one, right?



And, here was my favorite...

If that doesn't make you smile, then...well, you need serious help.

Just kidding...sort of.

SO CUTE!

Now, doesn't this make you want to go write some animal poetry?

Oh, it doesn't?

Well, I hope it at least showed you that poetry

doesn't have to be about trees, flowers, and nature.

...instead it should always be about dogs, cats, and horses!