The wound is the place where the Light enters you. 💛
Look how perfect & beautiful my incision/scar is!! It looks so good. The covering stuff holding it closed just came off, so I can finally see it in all its raw perfection & magnificent glory.
It’s amazing how just six weeks ago I was laying on an operating table out cold & cut completely open to give life to someone else and already my body is so healed. The scar is delicate and perfect. So powerful in all its subtlety & elegance.
My beautiful life affirming scar.
Isn’t it amazing that a whole life was saved & enhanced because of this small, thin, & delicate line on my abdomen? Awe inspiring. Something so small and seemingly insignificant, just a thin line that no one else may ever see and will eventually fade to almost nothing and be nearly invisible, yet it’s a symbol of one of the most significant things there is to do: giving life. It takes my breath away.
I remember waking up in the operating room groggy and amazed. There was no pain. (Other than a migraine-like headache) I instantly remembered what I did. It was hours later, but it felt like mere seconds ago that I was there on that table going under while the doctors & nurses laughed & joked and played what I vaguely remember being “Oh, Pretty Woman,” by Roy Orbison, for me as I was drifting off.
I couldn’t believe I just had surgery. It felt too good to be true. My body felt strong, healthy, & alive, even with all the grogginess, exhaustion, and headache, and one less organ. I couldn’t believe it finally happened after all these years of dreaming. It felt so easy. All I had to do was lay on a table and go to sleep for a couple hours so someone else can live. For me, it was that simple.
It was an extremely easy decision to make. It was my calling. There was never any hesitation, uncertainty, or question about it. I heard the call and answered.
It doesn’t matter that I may never get a thank you or see the impact of my act of compassion. The potential is what matters, potential to save and enhance a life. And there is joy & value in the act of giving, itself, without getting any results or gratitude for the act. Just the act alone is enough. And it doesn’t matter that the person is an anonymous stranger I may never lay eyes on. We are all the same at our core.
You are Me I am You We are One
I remember waking up with three doctors and one nurse standing at the end of my hospital bed in the OR before being wheeled to my room, all cheerfully saying “Good morning, Kimberly, you’re awake now, Kimberly, good morning, Kimberly, you’re awake, Kimberly….” over and over and over until I fully came to. They were all wearing masks & hair caps. But I could see their smiling eyes. And I knew. I knew it was a success. That pleasant experience of them gently guiding me out of insentience is one of my favorite memories of the whole journey. It made all the difference, waking up to that human compassion & positivity gave me a very different experience than if I would have woken up alone in a dark room in a cold, clinical setting of uncertainty. I will forever cherish it.
So many healthcare workers were in & out of the operating room praising me for giving the gift of life & health.
The surgeon said our kidney is beautiful. While I was still asleep, it was already on its way to do its job and save a life. It began working instantly in its new person’s body.
And now I am here, with this permanent beautiful, perfect reminder on my body of that beautiful, perfect day.
1/16/2024
💚🫘💚🫘
#endthewaitlist
Happy National Kidney Month!!! 💚💋🍀
#endthewaitlist
I hope you’re having a beautiful day or night wherever in the world you are! 💚
On January 16, 2024, my kidney will have its new forever home with a person in Minnesota!
I am going to share a set of kidneys with an anonymous person somewhere else in the country! 😭😍
My kidney is going to the next person on the waiting list in the U.S who I am a match for. My person was found in Minnesota! (I’m in Pennsylvania) That’s all the information they will give me. In altruistic donations like this, which are always anonymous, it’s possible even with very little information that the donor/recipient can potentially identify each other if they try, so they give us as little information as possible about each other to avoid that. Sometimes the transplant teams reveal the gender & age. I did not get that info yet. I may or may not later.
How amazing is this!!! What a rare & beautiful experience, to get to give someone else the gift of life through organ donation and while being alive. 💚💚💚🫘 🫘 🫘 It was a long journey of extensive medical & psychiatric evaluation to be sure I’m physically & emotionally fit to donate a kidney and so much paperwork. But here we are!In altruistic donations in the U.S it’s possible for the anonymity to eventually be broken, but the recipient has to be the one to initiate it. If the donor agrees, they can communicate. In some cases the recipient reaches out through the transplant center to thank & update the donor on how the transplant is working for them. In other cases, the recipient never does. Either way is good with me! I’m just looking to potentially help someone! 💚
My surgery will take place at 6:00am on 1/16/2024 at Penn Transplant Institute here in Philadelphia. Lefty will be shipped on an airplane to its new person. I get to keep Righty. I’ll be in the hospital for at least two days, no more than four days as long as there are no complications. They said most likely two days. I will be accepting visitors! All are welcome, even strangers! You can let me know in advance or just show up as a surprise (bringing gifts! It can be anything, I’m easy to please 😆 jk, just your presence is enough)! The more, the merrier lol
I couldn’t help it and ordered a sterling silver necklace with our transplant date as a mini celebration as soon as I was told my match was found and our date!! It wasn’t a wise decision because it’s not uncommon for transplant dates to change if donor or recipient wakes up with a sore throat that day or catches a virus just before or something changes with one of the surgeon’s schedules…But I couldn’t resist! So let’s hope so much it doesn’t change! The necklace was not expensive, but it would be a waste of material and time for the seller/creator on Etsy. But I’m hopeful and staying positive it will remain that date!!
Anyone want to guess the gender of my kidney sib? Girl? 🩷 Boy? 🩵 Other? 💜 I’ll see if we can get a gender reveal going lol
(this is my FB post last Monday so a week late here – I’m donating my kidney to whoever needs it, I always wanted to be a non directed kidney donor! In March this year I discovered a specific man who urgently needs a kidney so currently trying to help him)
Had another kidney donation exam today (last Monday), and oh was it awkward lol I had to completely undress head to toe and be examined, just about every inch of me inside & out, making sure there’s no signs of cancer. I was surprised and asked “All of my clothes, like everything?” She said “Yep, bra, panties…all of it.” 😳 Poked, prodded, orifices & parts checked & squeezed with instruments & hands. I’m not self conscious about my body or it being seen/touched, but it was still a bit awkward getting my junk squeezed & prodded lol Like, no one touches my stuff.
I was laying there thinking I hope my potential kidney recipient knows what I’m subjecting myself to for him to get a kidney 🤣
All the medical staff were wearing rainbow proud lgbtq ally pins, so that put my mind at ease. I’m always a bit anxious that medical people are going to judge, invalidate, and medicalize my asexuality. Rainbow/ally/lgbtq pins are reassuring & make it seem like a safespace. I was even asked if I’m in any kind of/non sexual relationship, which was so validating because it shows they are open to the idea of non sexual/non traditional relationships. Most of society only sees relationships as valid if they are/were sexual or typical romantic. So it made me happy! It’s the little things! ♥️
I already did all the scans and all required. This is the last physical exam required (other than the dna match, but it’s going to a stranger, so that doesn’t concern me, if my chosen recipient & me aren’t a match, which we likely won’t be, he still gets a kidney though my donation)! I just have to have another psych evaluation because of my history of depression (puts me at an elevated risk for an episode just after surgery) and my job being unsafe to return to until three months after surgery. The social worker is especially concerned about me possibly not listening about taking the full three months off.
I received an update that my left kidney has been selected for donation! I guess it’s not official yet though because the social worker is concerned about my depression history and job.
🫘💚
Overall, it’s all looking good though!
They better accept my kidney after that awkwardness. 🤣 I let someone touch my junk for this!
💚
I hope you’re having a beautiful day or night wherever in the world you are!
The Harvest, fiction supernatural thriller by Sara Clancy – I got it for free on Amazon Kindle
Oh Billie it’s fresh in my memory The night that it had to be done You with your pick axe and scissors And you with your shovel and gu n
And I liked your late husband Donald But such torture his memory brings All sliced up and sealed tight in baggies Guess love makes you do funny things
Oh Billie oh Millie, criminally insane
Content warning ⚠️: mental health/brief mention of a*use – any censored words is in case I share on FB where we can get suspended
I have a history of voluntary & involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations (for depression – haven’t been hospitalized in 15+ years). The hospital I was in, (I don’t remember the name, but they sent me outside of Philadelphia, I had no say in the matter), had a section for the “criminally insane” (I don’t know if that’s true for all psychiatric hospitals or whatever those hospitals are called these days, also don’t know exactly what constitutes “criminally insane.” {nor do I care, I see lots of boring debate over it in legal & medical contexts, I just have firsthand experience being hospitalized with them, but I don’t know all that legal/psych stuff, all I know is they were extremely dangerous to others, and we were not, though some of us were h0micidal too but in a less “insane” kind of way, not me, I was only ever s*icidal, but one of my roommates was h0micidal against everyone when she would have fits of uncontrollable rage, she was the sweetest thing, small pretty blonde girl who I wished was my friend outside the hospital, we planned to meet up when we got out of there, but it never happened, unfortunately. She was my bff in there, we were inseparable. The staff used to say our friendship was so sweet & cute. We just clicked and even unexpectedly had matching pj’s, which made us & the staff laugh! She had pretty pastel pink ones with penguins, and I had the same but pastel blue. We did everything together in there. If we got assigned to a different activity, we would ask special permission to switch so we could stay together, they let us. The staff said it was good for us that we developed a bond like that and said we were attached at the hip. Everyone called us the prettiest girls in there and said we looked exactly alike, except she had blonde hair and was a bit taller and thinner than me and a few years younger, her hair was long, but mine was longer, nearly long enough to sit on. It touched the floor when I sat on it or when I laid in bed and tossed it over the side. They called us twins and sometimes even got us confused. Sometimes people would stop and do a double take when they saw us standing together because of how much we looked alike. Other patients constantly asked if we were sisters. I actually did not see the resemblance. I thought she was prettier than me but not in a self deprecating way. I thought I was pretty too. But she was striking in a way that isn’t normal. She looked like a model out of a Victoria’s Secret magazine. She also dressed like me. I was told to change when I walked out of our room in a belly shirt and low cut pants. So she had to call her mom and ask for more appropriate clothes because she had the same.
She wasn’t declared criminally insane but was prone to depression & random v!0lent outbursts where she wanted to k!ll anyone who was around her, including herself. In her normal state, she was quiet, calm, soft spoken, like me, and she had compassion for others. When she came out of her episodes, she was horrified at the things she said and her outbursts & threats against others. She experienced an unwanted pregnancy and had an abortion, and her boyfriend accused her of cheating because he said men everywhere come onto her, like that was her fault, and the stress of it all triggered a depressive episode for her. She said with her mental illness she wasn’t fit to be a mom or even carry a baby to term, so she terminated it. I was in there for a depressive episode that came on out of the blue, not triggered by any current life circumstances. She got released before me. We weren’t allowed to touch, it was against the rules. But we hugged goodbye anyway and were so sad to leave each other. After living together, even just very briefly, and sharing our deepest pain and laughing hysterically together all night, planning our escape, it felt like she was my family, like a long lost sister. We only knew each other very briefly, but I already loved her in a deep sisterly way. Sometimes we forgot where we were when we were laughing so hard together. We would paint pretty pictures together and hang them around our hospital room. I was grieving hard because before her, I had another sweet roommate who I loved and clicked with, sweet Holly, a girl suffering of paranoid schizophrenia, who got transferred to a different ward. They took her away and sent me Missy (her name wasn’t Missy, exactly, but it was a nickname I affectionately gave her, which she adored), a depressed girl, who I came to love just as much. I still remember her like it was yesterday. I don’t know that I would recognize her though if I ever saw her again all these years later. I’m still glad our paths crossed. Our very fleeting friendship still warms me, and the memories bring me joy. I hope to have a girl friendship like that again someday under better circumstances, of course lol and more long-term}).
The criminally insane were in a different part, but we would have food with them in the cafeteria each day, three times a day. I remember one of my hospital friends asking a staff member who they were. We could tell they were different than us. They had a different air about them that was abnormal even for a psych hospital. Most would probably see them as more intimidating. They never scared me, but I could tell they weren’t to be messed with, and you probably wouldn’t want to turn your back on them unsupervised. Most of them were men/male presenting people. But there were women/fem presenting people among them also. They had shackles and more strict supervision. They weren’t allowed to roam the halls or the courtyards or socialize like us. We mostly only crossed paths with them in the cafeteria.
The psych. tech responded “The criminally insane” when my friend asked who they were across the cafeteria.
They would all eat their food on the other side of the cafeteria. Unlike the average or “regular” mentally ill person (or whatever we’re called these days lol I’m sure there’s a more “politically correct”/less offensive term for us), they were very dangerous. They would have v!olent outbursts against each other and staff. They couldn’t really do as much with their hands/legs, so they would try to charge at people and knock people with their heads. Lol They would jump up yelling and flip chairs and try flipping tables. The staff people would come up in back of them trying to restrain them, and they would headbutt them with the back of their heads. There was never a dull moment in the cafeteria.
It’s true, like the excerpt above says, it would be all quiet & calm then all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose for seemingly no reason. And they would set each other off. One would flip out then others would be triggered. They would try to att@ck whoever was there. Sometimes they were so v!olent and uncontrollable, they would have to be taken away to a different facility. Multiple staff members would be dragging them away as they kicked and screamed hysterically until they got the needle (this happened to us too though, we would get the needle or the quiet room for flipping out, the quiet room terrified me, I avoided it at all costs {solitary confinement, a wh!te padded room with no handle on the door n no windows, I have lifelong claustrophobia, which was very active back then}, I would take the needle any day).
It’s not like in the movies where they all have this camaraderie and plan their escape and all together and it’s them against the world. They try to k!ll each other just like they would anyone else. Those b-grade horror movies (which I love) portray the criminally insane as all buddy buddy with each other. They definitely aren’t. They probably don’t even have that capacity. If they did, they wouldn’t be how they are. (I’m guessing not all “criminally insane” people are the same, some aren’t this v!olent, I’m sure, and not all are v!olent against random people, but these people were, some may even be able to live normal lives if they get help, movies generally make mentally ill/criminally insane people out to be more dramatic than we really are because it makes for a more interesting movie. But there are definitely outbursts n stuff in psych hospitals and people who are overall dangerous– I wish there was a better way I knew how to write this, it comes off with a very strong sense of otheringthe criminally insaneon my part, but not intentionally, it’s kind of cringey of me)
The “regular” mentally ill people had outbursts too each day, but not the same as them, ours was more like breakdowns and usually not against anyone. Theirs was against others and furious/more physical. The ordinary patients could definitely be v!olent against others too, usually the staff because the staff has authority, but usually not, and not like the criminally insane.
It’s easy to judge criminally insane people, but I feel sorry for them because I know ultimately they wouldn’t have chosen this life, this way of being, if they had a choice before coming into existence. As v!olent and terrible as they are or seem, even if it gives them a twisted satisfaction to hurt others, if they were asked before they were born if they wanted to live that kind of life or a life as a good person surrounded in love and being loving to others, most, if not all, would choose the life of love, not v!olence. Multiple factors, often beyond their control, all added up (a very large contributing factor usually being a*use or being unloved as a child) to make them this way.With that perspective, I can’t help but have compassion. They don’t want it any more than I do. It’s just I got lucky to have better circumstances, better upbringing, better genes…I lack all the contributing factors that they have the misfortune of falling victim to. It’s easy to sit here in my privilege and judge. But I rise above and expand my perspective and lean into my compassion.
Plastic forks and spoons No laces in my shoes They all know what I tried to do Outside the Quiet Room This quiet place It ain’t so new to me Its haunted atmosphere Has heard so many scream My home from home My twilight zone My strangest dream My confidant I have confessed my life The Quiet Room Knows more about me than my wife
Thank you for any comments & likes I have received on other posts! I will get back to them! I am in the process of donating a kidney to a stranger! I received the news recently that I am pretty much qualified after six months of medical & psychiatric testing! I’m in above average physical health, but the social worker, who is a member of the transplant team/selection committee, is concerned about my mental health history. Anesthesia/major surgery can trigger a depressive episode even in a person without a depression history. So I’m at an elevated risk. I have to have another psych evaluation before I can be accepted to donate my kidney. If all goes well, I get to save a stranger’s life! 💚The transplant could be as soon as September this year!!
I hope you are having beautiful day or night wherever in the world you are!
This is something I posted on social media and sharing here now. This mama and baby are doing well now, thankfully!! But the mom almost died during childbirth because of a rare and unexpected complication. Yes, that still happens! It seems like something that happened in like the 1800’s and not anymore but tragically, even today, some moms still die and almost die giving birth. If it were not for blood donors, this mom in the picture above, wouldn’t be here today.
This is horrific. This is why we desperately need regular blood donors and more of us. Blood donation doesn’t just help people live healthier and make things go more smoothly, that too. But in some urgent cases, like this here, it literally saves lives. This young mom wouldn’t be here today if not for people choosing to give a little bit of blood.
“Placenta percreta is the most rare and severe form of placenta accreta. This condition results in the placenta not being able to detach during delivery and risks catastrophic hemorrhage and death for the mother.”
Imagine if there wasn’t enough blood available that day when this occurred for this family. Or if one day there isn’t for another family.
Thank you to the Red Cross for sharing individual stories, like this, with us and showing the faces of the real people affected. They aren’t just imaginary even though we can’t see them and do not know them; they are real lives in need. And it can be any one of us one day in their position, needing a stranger to share some of that life sustaining stuff running through our veins. We would count on them to help us. So let us be just as quick to help those counting on us now. ❤💚 #veintovein #oneblood #itsinustogive #lovesomeonetoday #givelife #donate #blooddonor #redcross
Not everyone can or wants to donate blood but there are other ways to help, volunteering at the Red Cross, donating money, even just sharing links, information, the importance of blood donations. Many people don’t even think about donating blood. It doesn’t even cross our mind but some people would if it was brought to their attention. And some do not realize we can donate it regularly and when we learn, it resonates with us and we choose to. I’m trying to reach the people who have potential.
“Selfie” cam is broken so no good pics for now but January is National Blood Donor Month! The Red Cross encourages us to not only donate blood but share why we give. The reason I give blood is very simple; I have a whole body full of healthy B-negative blood and people need it to live so there’s no reason not to give it. What if my friend or family member needed my blood, I wouldn’t hesitate to give, right? So why hesitate to give to a stranger who is just as valuable! And if I needed a blood transfusion, I would be so thankful if blood were available for me! So why not give to others who need it now! It’s a great way to give thanks, “give back,” or “pay it forward” for our own life & good health. Every 56 days we can donate to the Red Cross if we meet the requirements. The whole process takes around one hour, checking in, physical checkup, blood bag filling up, recovering with snacks. We can look at the bag of blood if we want but don’t have to. I saw mine once; it’s no big thing. I go right back to work after donating with no problems, never been lightheaded or nauseated. There is a severe shortage of blood for people in need. More people are eligible to donate blood than actually do. The Red Cross needs all the kinds of blood. O-positive is the most common & 0-neg is the universal giver so people with O have a tremendous gift of being able to save many, many lives as O is most in demand. One unit of blood can save up to three lives! Someone somewhere needs a blood transfusion every single day. We don’t have to wait for emergencies made popular in the news or wait for blood drives at work/school/special events. ❤ . . . #love #universallove #blooddonor #donatelife #giftoflife #giveblood #givelife #onelove❤️ #loveforall #lovesomeonetoday❤❤❤ #savealife #kindnessmatters #actofkindness #missingtype #redcross #americanredcross #universalcompassion #youresomeonestype #itsinyoutogive #givemorelife #life #give #bneg #beauty #gift #nationalblooddonormonth #joyfulgiving
Today, while out for a walk with one of my furbabies, I saw a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia truck outside of a child’s house. The medical professionals were providing hospital care to a very sick child at home instead of at an actual hospital. I saw oxygen equipment inside and other life-sustaining things. Instantly, I felt the sharp contrast of health & sickness, need & wholeness. Some of us are walking around in perfect or near perfect health while others are near death/extremely ill. Some get to have completely healthy children while others have the devastation of watching theirs struggle for breath. It’s just the way it is. I felt the “blessing” of my own perfect or seemingly perfect health but not in a “grateful” way like I’m thankful to be healthy because I’m reminded others are sick. I did not feel thankful for my own health at all (there wouldnt be anything wrong if i did though) but felt the “blessing” or benefit of it. I became acutely aware of my own excellent health and an overwhelming urge to share it with someone less healthy. I want to give whatever I can to a person like that sick kid.
While there was no gratitude, there was no guilt either. It’s no one’s fault that some are healthy while some are too sick to get out of bed. It’s no one’s fault that some moms or dads get to see their healthy kids running around playing while others have to watch the life draining out of their child’s body.
I found the suffering of that child and the child’s parents absolutely unbearable but felt no sorrow or even sympathy, just compassion and a strong motivation to act. What can I do for this sick child? Most likely nothing. I would give him/her my last breath if I could. That isn’t possible though. But what about others who are sick/dying? I have healthy blood which I can donate regularly. I may have two healthy kidneys, one of which can go to a person in need and will be soon if I am found to be qualified. All this to say, if we have what someone else needs, why not share it? Why not give it away? It doesn’t matter if that person is a friend, family member, or stranger. We are all the same! If someone needs our time, how about sharing a bit of it? If a person in line in front of us is a few cents short, how about sharing some of ours if we have it? Healthy blood? Maybe give some to the Red Cross or whatever blood bank is close? What do you have that you can share with someone in need? It can be anything! Material things, biological things, time/understanding/hugs… We can find the suffering or need of others unbearable but in an action kind of way, not a way that breaks us or drags us down. What better way to give thanks for our own fortune, give back, pay it forward…than performing an act of kindness to someone else? If we see someone who needs a kind of help that we cannot or don’t want to provide, we can use that as our inspiration to go help someone else who can be helped by us in a way that we want to help. Not everyone wants to give blood or kidneys but there may be something else we want to give if not that. Not everyone agrees that it’s a good idea to help homeless people by giving them money but there is always another thing we can do to help them or another person/animal…to help, to give to.
So how about it?! Let’s put compassion into action!
I hope you are having a beautiful day or night wherever in the world you are!!❤
This isn’t my photo. I took a screen cap of it on Facebook on the cafe’s account. This is Sal. I posted about him in my post: A Light in the Darkness♡
I’m so sad to write, shortly after I published my post that night, Sal died. It hurts to write those words. He was 55 years old. As I said, I did not know him but know he was one of the best people in the world. I believe the world lost something so significant when it lost Sal. He did so much to help animals & humans and loved so deeply. Even though hes gone, his love lives on. ♡ My love goes out to his family & friends & work family and all devastated by this loss. How traumatic for them to lose someome so suddenly, so unexpectedly. But what a blessing it is to have known or even just met or heard of him! Isn’t this an adorable pic?!
And on a happier note, the retrievers I posted about here: If you could be
I later found out, the little boy doesn’t bark at all! Even with his own family. The little girl very rarely barks! How cute! It’s not very commonplace to meet a doggy who doesn’t bark at all, ever! There’s a certain dog breed who doesn’t bark but it’s not goldens!
And on a not so happy note, I made a bad decision at work today, using bad judgment, got in trouble, and it cost my boss some money. I wasnt sure if i was still going to have a job. All day filled with anxiety, tension, distress… If I were someone who labels days as “bad days,” today would be one but I know there’s no such thing as a “bad day.” Everyday, bad & good things happen and I always choose to honor the good, even if just a sliver.
It’s very rare, almost unheard of, for me to ever think “I can’t way til this day is over” but earlier, very briefly, I was tempted to think that way. Then I felt guilty and realized this day is BEAUTIFUL. This day is full of love, warmth, light, possibility, & beautiful Earth angels. I choose to put my focus on those & cherish them. I give thanks to this day and all the blessings it brings me.
Today, I was outside having trouble with a gate and a random stranger walked up and helped me. Just out of nowhere. He saw me struggling and was kind enough to help. Thank you, Earth angel. My heart wells up with gratitude. ♡
Earlier today, a homeless man asked me for money. As I was walking away, money fell out of my bag and I did not notice and he called me back! “Hey darlin’, you dropped this” A man who lives on the streets with very little to no money each day, called me to let me know I dropped some money. It was just some change, not much at all. But to a homeless person, it can be a lot. And instead of acting in a selfish, greedy manner, he chose to act in love. ♡♡♡
I met an adorable little boy today. I love kids (not for me though! Lol) & always have the urge to talk to them and say hello. I think kids brighten the day! But I don’t want to encourage them to talk to strangers. If they have a positive, safe experience with me, they may think it’s ok to talk to other adult strangers. Also, their families probably teach them not to talk to strange adults and I don’t want to “undo” that. But today, a little boy came over and asked to pet my dogs. The retrievers above. The goldens love everyone, humans & adults, and his mom gave him permission to pet them and talk to me so I let him. It’s the most adorable thing seeing a little kid hugging a dog! And the babies loved being loved by him. ♡
The little boy was so happy and proudly telling me all about how he just started Kindergarten. That’s a great accomplishment for a little boy! He was telling me what I have to do if I want to go to Kindergarten! His mom and me were laughing. How cute! ♡ My heart just melts.
Also, I met an adorable little chi today who looks just like my boy! ♡
My boy ♡
And, my boss is collecting clothes & things to help the people devastated by the hurricane in Puerto Rico. I’m so thankful to see so much light brought into the darkness. And look who crawled into my donations bag! Lol ♡
Little Miss Lacey! ♡ She’s not being donated! My love goes out to all of those affected by these natural disasters. There’s so much goodness all around us. It’s so easy to see and even when it isn’t, if we only look, it’s here, there, everywhere. ♡
“I was alone in the forest meditating. At nightfall, my only company was the flickering light from a kerosene lamp that someone gave. The little it may be, that light gave me strength to keep on striving. It taught me to remember the kindness of others no matter how simple or how small the acts appear to be. A Light in the darkness is a gift we must always remember.” ♡
There’s a song I love so much called A Light in the Darkness. It’s a Buddhist hymn but can apply to everyone. It’s seriously the most inspiring song I have ever heard! It’s about seeing light, being Light even in the darkest places. It’s so empowering.
There’s a cafe somewhat close to where I live. The owner of the cafe is one of the most caring, kind, friendliest people you can meet. He loves animals & warmly welcomes all the doggies! He has free treats & water out for them. ♡
I don’t know him but had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of occasions. He is very well loved in the community. Recently, he suffered a massive heart attack and has been in a hospital, unresponsive for a few days. He is in critical condition and his family & friends/coworkers and all who know him are devastated and fearful.
They don’t know if he’s ever going to wake up. I was walking by the cafe and saw this door. All these people, friends, family, coworkers, strangers, customers…all stopped to express love to Sal and his family. ♡ Each one of these people has brought light into this dark, dark place. Even though I don’t know Sal and probably only seen him on no more than two or three occasions, I felt so much warmth, love, light, & gratitude upon seeing all these sweet messages of love for him. I was inspired to write one myself.
This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. All these notes written in love and put on display to inspire others to act in love.
I already had this post planned before I learned about Sal’s devastating situation. After seeing all the love just pouring in, I decided to incorporate it into my post here. It’s the perfect example of Light in the darkness.
“Its flame burns to comfort lost feeling. Its flame burns to comfort lost feeling. A light in the darkness can be seen from afar. Burn of fire for the comfort of many.”
Each day there are little gems of hope all over the place, slivers of light, Earth angels….let’s focus on them no matter how dark it may get where we are. Every favor someone does for us, every smile, every act of kindness we experience/witness, every thing that goes good, let’s give thanks. They are all lights in the darkness.
Whatever we are experiencing…grief, anxiety, physical pain, depression, anger, breakup of some sort, job loss, betrayal by someone we trusted, regrets, happiness, joy, beginnings, good things, success of different kinds, new job, new relationships/friendships….., let’s remember the kindness of others.
And let’s remember to BE kind to others even on those occasions it may be difficult.
“If you have no light in your heart, find one, light one…..If you have a light already burning, let it burn, let it burn, let it burn, let it burn, let it burn, let it burn.”
Remember if you have no light in your heart, find one, light one. Smile at strangers, perform an act of kindness for other sentient beings of any species, write a note wishing someone well even if we don’t know the person, say something kind even if we are angry, give to others, write a gratitude list….& if you have a light already burning, let it burn.
Let it burn.
~Hugs~♡♡♡
Also, my love & compassion go out to Sal and his family, including his family of friends & coworkers and customers. I hope so desperately that he will recover. ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
My cousin sent me a Facebook invitation for an event taking place here in Philadelphia and when I opened it, I was ecstatic!
It’s the perfect idea for everywhere, not just here!
There are people collecting gloves, hats, scarves…anything to keep people warm, and hanging them in trees, putting them on park benches, and anywhere for homeless people to take and be a little bit warmer.
Isn’t this absolutely amazing?! Why did I not think of this?! I thought of leaving inspiring notes, dollar bills, books….for anyone to find but never thought of leaving pratical material objects like gloves & hats for people in need.
I am so thankful I was introduced to this idea and that people thought of it and reached so many people to inspire to do this. Gloves and hats can really make a big difference to people walking or sitting in the freezing cold.
My heart is overwhelmed in love & gratitude. It’s so heartwarming to see people helping like this.
Thank You to all who do things like this and inspire others to help.
Maybe you will do something like this if it’s cold where you are? You can donate your own or buy some things to help warm up those in need. Just put them outside anywhere and especially where homeless people usually are. In Philadelphia, they are often in “Love Park.” But people in need are everywhere. ❤ ❤
(this isn’t my picture. I found it on Google images.)
