Yesterday's Task::Give away two toys. Random...only other instructions were that they couldn't buy anything and the toys had to be something they still played with, at least occasionally. I am a firm believer that it is hardest and most rewarding to give something that is important to you. Sometimes that means putting $1 in the salvation army kettle when you only have $5 to buy milk and bread. Sometimes that means doing something boring for an evening because it it important to someone you love. And sometimes it means giving of a valuable possession just to make that person's day. The big kids had no idea where their toys were going when they deposited them on the dining room table. Both had chosen things that had been very important possessions and were now rarely used, but sentimentally significant. I was proud of their choices. The shock came when I turned to three-year-old baby brother Brice and presented him with his four new toys. These were items that he had been forbidden to touch until this moment...now they were his. There was a fleeting moment of doubt from Reeves, and a longer pause of shock and indignation from Embree, but both quickly conceded when they saw the joy on Brice's face. Both were noticeably moved by his thankfulness.
Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I believe this can be true in positive and negative ways. In the teachable moments of the day, I often tell the children...you get back what you put into the world. So if we choose to put stinginess, prejudice, anger, judgement, and hate into the world that is what we will receive from the world. On the other hand, if we approach others with generosity, acceptance, joy, tolerance, and love, we will reap the rewards. It isn't always easy to give our prized possessions, be they material or emotional, but the outcome is always positive, if no where else but our own hearts.
Today's Task::Take the dog for a long walk.
"Love is all we need." J.L.
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