January 11, 2013

From Alex Kreher:

I hope you had a nice holiday, and a lot of people who thought of Theo! During the Christmas time and beyond I thought a lot about Theo and every time I did something good, I thought of him even more. It felt so good. I gave the change I had in my pockets to a homeless man while I walked pass him, I bought two other homeless people a couple cans of soup and drinks.
Thank you Karla for the kind words on your blog about me, and I really thank you for sharing this story with me and letting me capture it!!
I hope you are doing good and that you both will have a great year!

From Haley Cowan:

a couple weeks ago before i went to my focused inquiry class here in Virginia i meditated and did yoga with crystals to prepare myself for the day.  i carry my crystals  almost everywhere i go.  they are used as reminders for myself to always be mindful and as a reminder to disperse any negative energies that come my way.  the crystals mean a lot to me and i have almost 20 different beautiful ones but i never keep them for too long.  like anything in the world, if you cling onto something then lose it, you will suffer.

          after my focused inquiry class i went to lunch with two of my friends.  in the middle of eating i realized i had forgotten one of the brand new crystals i had taken in the classroom i was just in.  it was a big chunk of calcite that i had just bought with my own money that was surprisingly a little pricey for something that came out of the earth.  running back to the building, i realized that there was another class that came in right after mine so i was thinking about how much i was going to look like a complete freak when i barge in there asking if anyone had seen a large rock sitting on the desk.  

          when i came in and asked, one girl who sat in the seat i was previously sitting in claimed in right away and sounded sad when I came back to retrieve it.  at that moment i decided to just give it to this random person who'd i had never seen or met before because i realized how fixated she had become with it.

          after saying that, i knew that whole class was surprised, i could feel it in the room.  i detached myself from that crystal right at that moment because i noticed how happy she was to now have it.  i hope i gave these students some form of inspiration and reason to not to cling onto everything you own and realize how amazing it is to give someone a little piece of you.

          before and after that time, i have given many people i personally know crystals.  i want to teach people that giving something to someone random gives you the same feeling when giving a gift to someone you know personally.  the feeling of giving is one of the most amazing feelings.  when you detach yourself from things you cling onto and once you lose it doesn't seem so bad.  you start to realize that there is reason why it's not in your possession anymore.  maybe someone else needs it more than you.   

January 8, 2013

From Bre Spain:

For my random act of kindness I used my left over swipes (89) and dining dollars (32) to feed the homeless in Monroe Park. Instead of letting them go to waste since they do not roll over to the next semester, I helped feed the needy and give back to the less fortunate. It was a great feeling.

From David Pandolfe:

I think of you often, and I think of Theo’s Christmas Stocking each year. With regard to acts of kindness, I try to teach my kids that the less fortunate around us on the streets are not invisible or scary. That we can not only stop and open our wallets but we can also say hello and ask how they are doing. I hope my kids learn from the experience. I think they do.

Hope you’re doing well.

Best wishes.