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Poppy's Perfect Crayons
Perfectionism is increasingly common in school-age children and often comes with a "pathological, repetitive worry” about falling short, according to Gordon Flett, a psychology professor and researcher at York University in Canada, quoted in U.S. News & World Report. We need an equivalent rise in resources that help kids who have high expectations of themselves, so that they can understand the beauties of imperfection, the pleasures of play, and the value of sharing with friends.
Poppy's Perfect Crayons gently and compassionately approaches this challenge for readers ages four to eight. Poppy is highly protective of her new box of fancy crayons — so much so that she doesn't want to use them because they are "too perfect to spoil." So while her friends scribble and scrawl around her, she sits on the floor gazing into her crayon box with an anxious expression on her face.
But these are genuinely caring friends. A mouse named Millie, who has worn her crayons down to half their size, gives Poppy some of her crayons when she realizes that Poppy doesn't want to ruin her own. Poppy notices that "there isn't much left of it, so it didn't matter if she wasted it on a mistake."
One by one, other friends come forward with offers of crayons, leading Poppy to learn many new, beneficial things. If she presses down hard on a crayon and it breaks, for instance, she now has two crayons! And if a crayon gets flat, each stroke she makes with it covers more paper.
She hits a new level of crisis when she needs a touch of lilac to finish her picture. No one except Poppy has this color, which would mean breaking into her perfect box. What she does then, which we won't give away, is a pure delight.
Author and illustrator Sally Anne Garland grew up in the Highlands of Scotland and studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art. She has many years of experience as a children's illustrator, which show in this book's colorful expressions of feelings, friendship, and acceptance.
A colorful story about the value of imperfection.
Giving from the Heart
By Daniela Esparza
The Christmas aroma filled the air as I eagerly waited for the time to pass and finally opened an embellished box to satisfy my curiosity.
By Daniela Esparza
The Christmas aroma filled the air as I eagerly waited for the time to pass and finally opened an embellished box to satisfy my curiosity.
Michael Morwood, God Is Near: Trusting Our Faith
The following statements form the foundation of another simple prayer style. The power of the prayer rests on the belief that we give to these statements, most of which are found in Scripture, especially in the writings of John.
• God is love.
• We are created in the image of God.
• We are the only creatures who can love; we are blessed with intelligence, will, memory, and imagination to help us love.
• To be created in the image of Love Itself means that our loving is a sharing in God's own life.
• Our loving, then, can give us our best understanding of what God is like.
• Reflecting on our loving can give us a deeply prayerful experience of God's closeness.
• "As long as we love one another, God will live in us." (I John 4:12)
• "God is love, and whoever loves lives in God and God lives in them." (1John 4:16)
• Our God is as intimate with us as much a part of us, as our loving.
• "You are to love one another the way I have loved you." (John 15:12)
Foundation of a simple prayer style
Always Sisters
Saira Mir is a physician and author of Muslim Girls Rise, a nonfiction book about nineteen Muslim women of the twenty-first century who have risen above challenges, doubts, and sometimes outright hostility to blaze trails in a wide range of fields. As an OB-GYN, she has helped many families through pregnancy loss. But when her own family suffered pregnancy loss, she could not find a book that would help her support her daughter through her sadness. She wrote Always Sisters to be that book and to help children who have lost a baby sister or brother hurt less.
The story's narrator, Raya, begins by sharing joyful news: "I am going to have a baby sister!" The baby-to-be already has a name: Nura, Arabic for "beautiful light." Raya has big plans for Nura. She will chase her through sprinklers, play dress-up with her, and give her piggy-back rides, barely taking breaks because she delights in Nura's laughter.
This happy anticipation continues, culminating with confidence that "we will be best friends and do everything together" (and maybe even let Raya's little brother join them sometimes). Raya has gone so far as to tell kids at school about Nura. But then her mother goes to a doctor check-up and returns looking sad and telling Raya that the baby won't be coming home.
Illustrator Shahrzad Maydani carries this tale along with gentle watercolors that do justice to the vibrant energy of happiness at the start and the ensuing confusion and sadness. In one picture near the end, we see Nura with her face buried in her knees, red and orange rays of color bursting around her as she wonders, "Is all the love I have for Nura trapped inside?" Her father tells her that if she shares that love with others, it will help her feel better.
The story provides tools that four-to-eight year olds can use to work through their sadness. Raya draws pictures of Nura, talks about her with her parents and her school counselor, and together with her family plants a magnolia tree on the day that would have been Nura's birthday. She continues to speak with Nura in her heart and hears her say in return, "We're always sisters. I love you."
In her author's note, Mir writes, "I hope that by telling our stories and helping others feel less alone, we'll create a world where we can care for heartache better together." She has given that hope a big boost by writing this tender, moving book.
A gentle, tender tale about the ache of pregnancy loss.
Scott Russell Sanders, Writing from the Center
The community I desire is not grudging; it is exuberant, joyful, grounded in affection, pleasure, and mutual aid. Such a community arises not from duty or money but from the free interchange of people who share a place, share work and food, sorrows and hope. Taking part in the common life means dwelling in a web of relationships, the many threads tugging at you while also holding you upright.
Dwelling in a web of relationships
Michael Berg, The Way
Achieving transformation means becoming a being of sharing. Notice that this refers to an inner condition rather than any physical action or activity. It means using the tools and teachings . . . with the sincere intention to transform.
Desire to receive for ourselves alone cuts us off from the Light of the Creator and makes true fulfillment impossible. Yet self-serving desire is built into our condition as human beings. The answer lies not in ridding ourselves of all desire, but in transforming self-serving desire into desire to receive for the purpose of sharing.
Becoming a being of sharing
A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps
A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps will have virtual theatrical releases across the U.S. beginning May 22, 2020.
John F. Kennedy's inaugural address as the 35th President of the United States included these well-remembered lines:
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."
The new president was asking all Americans to contribute to the public good and create a new era in American life. And he was signaling to the world that he welcomed collaborative activities to seek peace and freedom.
The Kennedy administration then moved quickly to provide opportunities to make these big and bold goals possible. One was the establishment on March 1, 1961, by executive order of a U.S. government agency of volunteers called the Peace Corps. Its purpose was to promote world peace and friendship between the United States and developing countries by sending volunteers to work in the fields of education, agriculture, health, trade, information technology, and women's economic empowerment.
President Kennedy asked his brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, to figure out how to make this work and convince the Congress to fund the project, which they did in September. Shriver rose to the occasion with gusto, getting the new agency up and running in record time. Soon thousands of people, mostly recent college grads eager to use their talents and energies, had applied. After three months of training, based upon their education and experience, they were sent to countries that had invited them. Once abroad, Peace Corps volunteers functioned as good neighbors in the host countries by learning the language and living in conditions similar to those welcoming them.
A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps offers a well-organized and enlightening overview of the history of this remarkable undertaking. The Peace Corps grew from 900 volunteers in 1961 to a highpoint of 15,556 volunteers in 1966. Many people who remember those days may not be as familiar with the later history. Its impact declined during the Vietnam War, but bounced back when Ronald Reagan appointed Loret Miller Ruppe as the Director; she proved to be an able administrator and evangelist for the agency.
There were threats to its mission. Some host country nationals suspected that volunteers were really CIA agents. At home, some questioned decisions to send volunteers to Eastern Europe and Russia after the end of the Cold War. At the same time, there were remarkable accomplishments, such as the role Peace Corps volunteers played in helping the people during the civil war in the Dominican Republic and their work during the HIV/AIDS and Ebola crises in Africa.
In 2020, there were already hundreds of thousands of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) sharing stories of life-changing experiences during their tours. And some 7,300 volunteers were serving around the world.
Directed by Alana DeJoseph and narrated by Annette Bening, this documentary includes interviews with RPCVs, including Senator Chris Dodd, Congresswoman Donna Shalala, Congressman Joe Kennedy, and others; Maria and Tom Shriver, who talk about their father's work; current and former staffers including Harris Wofford and Bill Josephson; President Jimmy Carter who mother and grandson were PCVs; and others. Historians John Coyne, Elizabeth Cobbs, and Gerard R. Rice and nationals from the countries where volunteers served provide context and insights into the Peace Corps' accomplishments. Archival footage takes viewers to early training programs and overseas posts, juxtaposing them with historical events. The film presents a detailed and inspiring portrait of the agency that dared to demonstrate how to truly give peace a chance.
Director DeJoseph is herself a RPCV and decided that this documentary was needed now as countries around the world are turning inward and even forgoing alliances. She has said: "In a time when the American public either has a very antiquated notion of the Peace Corps, informed by an almost mythological awe of the 60s, or is not even aware that the agency still exits, it is high time to bring this unique organization back into the public discourse, to raise the level of the discussion from quaint to crucial." We could not agree more.
An enlightening and inspiring 60-year history of the Peace Corps.
Baby Bird
"If you study with a teacher for a long time, with both of you earnestly serving the Dharma, wonderful things can happen. Positions can change, and suddenly one day the teacher is the student and the student is the teacher. Incredible responsiveness occurs. The relationship between teacher and student is well expressed in a koan about a mother bird pecking from the outside of an egg and a baby bird pecking from the inside. Each is pecking away, trying to get rid of the eggshell. This image aptly reflects how a teacher and a student each work in their own way on the barriers to wisdom."
To Practice: Remember when teaching to let your student participate equally in the experience.
Keen insights into the teacher-student relationship.
Build a Relationship Economy
One reaction to the consumer economy is that many Americans seem to be buying less and making and sharing more as they establish and grow their communities. Customer reviews of products are more important than ever, making the relationship between the business and customer of primary importance. Rather than focusing on transactions, many American businesses are shifting to relationship building with their customers, employees, and other business partners. Some governmental agencies seem to be gaining awareness of their relationships with the public, becoming more transparent with their budgets and other information of public interest.
Use the following prompts to reflect on how you can become more engaged in the relationship economy:
Who are your neighbors at home and at work? How can you build a sharing economy with them?
How can you change your spending to be more relationship-based?
If you run a business, how can you focus on building a relationship between the company and customer? How can you have authentic, mutually beneficial conversations with customers about your product/service?
Urging to put relationships at the forefront of your personal spending and your business interactions.
A Chosen Faith
"Each of the great religions has a distinctive note, to be likened to the strings of a harp.
"In Hinduism it is the note of spirit:
a universe throbbing with divine energy and meaning.
"In Buddhism it is the wisdom of self-discipline:
quenching the fire of desire in the cool waters of meditation.
"In Confucianism it is reciprocity:
mutual consideration is the basis of society.
"In Taoism it is to conquer by inaction:
be lowly and serviceable, like a brook; become rich by sharing.
"In Judaism it is exodus from bondage:
the covenant of responsibility in freedom.
"In Islam it is the note of submission:
'Our God and your God is one, to whom we are self-surrendered.'
"In Christianity it is that all may become one:
'This is my body broken for you.'
'Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these.' "
John A. Buehrens and Forrest Church quoting Jacob Trapp's hospitality to the distinctive notes in each of the world's religions.