The Compassion Collection
I keep hearing these quotes in my head...one is from my 90s teenage self and it's Jewel singing, "In the end, only kindness matters..." Another is, "In a world where you can be anything, be kind." And the other is something like, "It doesn't cost anything extra to be kind." I know it sounds simple and it may seem obvious, but there's plenty of unkind things happening constantly, and it just felt extra important to keep talking about kindness and compassion. It's what we teach our boys...sometimes yelling..."Are you being KIND and GENTLE?!" They're two and four, so you can imagine that the volume occasionally gets ratcheted up a few notches.
The holiday season is behind us now and we are in it. January 2020. Around the holiday season there's such a generous spirit. People don't think twice about leaving an extra dollar in the tip jar at their favorite coffee joint, giving dry goods to a food pantry, checking in with an old friend just to see how they are. But what happens in January? At least for me I've noticed a turn inward. I'm exhausted from all the extroverting (is that a word? It should be) at holiday parties and get togethers (not to mention the work this season brings my way, THANK YOU!). And I need downtime. But I have learned that the human spirit is recharged is by helping others, or just by showing caring when someone needs it.
The collection I'm working on now is all being created with an extra dose of caring, kindness, and compassion, which I hope you'll pass along as well. It's so easy to get overwhelmed, and I love to use my gems - miracles from Mother Nature herself - to help me remember that I'm part of something much, MUCH bigger than myself. Let's use our amazing gifts from the earth to remember that, and also to remember others. It only takes a tiny thing to make someone's day. The other day at the grocery store, I helped a woman tie her shoe. Afterward she grabbed my hand, thanked me, and said that it had been a really hard day. We shared a moment, a moment of human connection and compassion.
I know you're already showing caring and compassion to so many people in your daily life, so let's keep paying that forward. With this collection release on January 29th, I'll be sending a gift with each piece that you can keep for yourself (show yourself compassion too for goodness sakes!) or gift to a friend. Let's keep practicing these random acts of compassion together! I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.