Specialty Grab Bag

"BE COURAGEOUS. IT'S ONE OF THE

FEW PLACES LEFT UNCROWDED."

ANITA RODDICK

The year of 2020 has facilitated change in numerous aspects of our lives.  This has triggered various responses, some made in haste while others made in fear.  As months go by, we have may have grown bored or annoyed by pressing restrictions, stirring unrest and dissatisfaction.

We waste time brooding with resentment, when we could just take a moment to reassess.  A person can glance back through a journal and notice entries where more time was wished for ... and what would have been the follow through?  

Ultimately, we have no control over the present situation of the world, but we do have choice when it comes to our personal life.  Think of something productive thoroughly enjoyed and activates a skill as well as the sense of giving. Bake to the extreme. place in small packages, then deliver to homeless.  Grab small baggies and create a kit, filling them with loitering hotel shampoo bottles, lotion and soap.  Insert backup toothbrushes and a travel size toothpaste.  Pass along stored cotton or tampax.  Carry a case of bottled water in the car, and pass along as need appears.  There are numerous small ways.  Get creative and concoct a specialty grab bag!

 

Incubated in Warm Loving Water

 

"Whatever you do, be different -

that was the advice my mother gave me,

and I can't think of better advice

for an entrepreneur.

If you're different,

you will stand out."

 

Anita Roddick

 



When I came across this quote, I put it "on" to try it out.  I immediately felt like I was being incubated in warm loving water.  I felt as though I was beginning  life naked and everything I would choose to wear or embrace would totally be of my discretion.  The water surrounding me was clear, supportive, and embracing. 

These words by Anita Roddick are completely contradictory from the words I heard.  The directives for me came in questions:  "Why can't you be like Suzy?  Why do you have to read so much?  Why aren't you joining a group?  Don't stand out, fit in! Why can't you just be like all of the other kids?" The pressure to belong or fit in was not as great as the message of something being 'wrong' with me.

When I was in the midst of parenting, I read an article about a young couple who were adopting a baby.  They were both very invested, but the soon to be father made a comment that stayed with me all of these years.  He said about raising the forth coming child, "I can hardly wait to watch him unfold.  It will be like unwrapping a gift discovering who he is and who he is meant to be."  I was so happy that these parents were not projecting expectations about this child.  They wanted to nurture him and give him strength to find his own way.

I am seasoned enough to know there are children who have been given positive nurturing and still find themselves in trouble.  Growing children is an incredibly difficult thing to do.  I cannot help but wonder, however, how different our world would be if all children were allowed to foster their heart's desire.   What if we calculated the perfect balance of guidance and freedom?  How would our world appear if we were able to view our inner self as beautiful and capable of accomplishing pursuit of our dreams?  If we used the billions of dollars we spend on wars, and created healthy and creative opportunities for all children, perhaps we would breed peace through compassion and acceptance.