Simple, sustained, focused caring and sharing
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
On this rainy soggy October morning with our students nestled safely in their classrooms learning, sharing, laughing, studying, snacking, playing and thinking I am overcome by profound joy and deep sadness. I am so privileged to work in a place of hope with the joy of children surrounding me each and every day of my decades long career. I then must cross back into the harsh panful realities of what children, families, schools, towns, cities, states, and countries are dealing with- be it natural disasters or man made disasters- but disasters all the same. Children with no family, no food, no homes, no hope are reflected in haunting photos online or on the news each day. Children hurt, wounded or worse through no other circumstance other than the neighborhood they live in or the health care they yearn for are deep seated signs of a sick and selfish society that is anesthetized to the horrors right here at home.
I wish I had the silver bullet cure for this melancholy up my sleeve, but perhaps the metaphor is a part of a simple doable solution. Up your sleeve is your arm! Put it to good use for both treasuring your own family and reaching out to others who desperately need your hand and heart. Simple, sustained, focused caring and sharing will slowly create a tsunami that can help others envision a better tomorrow thanks to your reaching out.
You did an amazing start on this very quest with the wonderfully generous donations that sent hundreds of new backpacks to students of a flooded and damaged school and community. And it made us feel good, too! Let’s keep that spirit alive and well @ the Woods all year as we continue to learn, share, laugh, study, snack, play and think.
Listen. Can you hear the sound?
Hearts beating all the world around.
Down in the valley, out on the plain,
Everywhere around the world a heartbeat sounds the same.
Black or white. Red or tan,
It’s the heart of the family of man… beating away, beating away, beating away.
Listen
-Red Grammer from his award winning CD “Teaching Peace”
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