Dear Kindness
Dear Kindness:
You are the best part of me~of all of us. And we desperately need to let your light shine out from our hearts and souls now more than ever. I am feeling lost, forlorn and deeply dark within as your light is being overshadowed by hate and fear.
You have taught me that to know you, to be part of you, I must make a commitment. For you are a practice~one I must exercise daily or become atrophied, rotted, forever in despair. And only with practice can I know you better, can I become more accomplished at letting your light shine.
But most of all I must not forget that kindness must be given willingly to all; nature and mankind alike. None must be forgotten, none must be left out or left behind. Nor should I forget the most important kindness, to myself. For without that I cannot hope to bring you to the rest of the world.
So as I move forward, dear kindness, I must not lose faith in you. I must remember that I do not have to live in the dark recesses of a hopeless, anguished world. Not as long as your light is stoked, fed and tended within….bringing out the best in me!
© Donna Donabella 2018
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I am bringing you another epistolary poem from a letter I wrote in April of 2016. This one has been edited quite a bit in light of the world in which we live. A world that is desperately in need of kindness….for all. And not easily found.
The pictures are of a spring wreath looking out into my March spring garden covered in snow. The crystal stick is a special rainbow maker from a dear friend.
I am joining in with Poets United for their weekly poetry link up for poets who blog.
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I leave you with a few additional words about Dear Kindness. I welcome you to download the photo and share it.
And what I have discovered in these impossible moments, is that I need to turn inward, and tap into my hidden reserves. What powers these reserves, and allows us to survive? Quite simply it is love. Not just love from others, but love of ourselves….really the most important gift we can give to ourselves and others. For when we love ourselves, the tribulations of life can seem to melt away, and our capacity to love others increases tenfold.
Changing an answer on a final that resulted in a grade of 98 instead of 100% would put me in a tailspin where I would call myself ‘stupid’, say ‘how I knew better’…’what was wrong with me’…and causing me to obsess on this mistake for months. Nothing was acceptable to me but perfection.
What did I do? It really is quite simple, and a bit brave, if I say so myself. I recognize these moments where I engage in negative self-talk, and I stay in the moment with them….I feel them, where they reside in my body, and then I give myself a bit of self-love. I tell myself, out loud usually, ‘I am doing the best that I can in this moment’. Then I recognize that indeed I am doing my best….and I let go of the emotions tying me down.
Each time I focused and stayed in the moment I sensed an easing of these negative emotions and self-talk. There are many practices to help with this process, and I have learned some new techniques, from the courses I took recently. I highly recommend 
So when I designed the bones of my garden, I imagined flowers and water there in a special spot…and with it the sound of water. It was clear that a pond would be the perfect spot to have water and flowers. And that pond had to have a waterfall, so I could have the healing sound of water nearby, especially since I don’t live close to the ocean.
And the rallying cry, ‘Earth Day Everyday’ was a perfect mantra for me. A young 13-year-old wanting to make a difference. I knew so little then…and now some 46 years later after all I have learned, and all I try to do, I wonder do I make a difference at all. Will my one garden, grown organically, using less water…will it matter in the grand scheme? Will it matter to the wildlife in my one plot?
From my perspective, it is really rather simple…..do no harm. Stop spraying your weeds and the insects. The chemicals not only are killing the wildlife around us, but they are killing us. More and more research is showing that our exposure to chemicals is causing diseases in us and our pets. And the chemicals found in our food, is where we get the bulk of these chemicals that are deadly to us.
Can you tell I am impassioned about this topic? Am I preaching to the choir? Yes, and I am up on my soapbox too. And maybe my voice will reach very few, but that is not going to stop me from doing what I know in my heart is the right thing….do no harm. This is my perspective, and only you can reach your own conclusions based on how you see the world.
they cannot be flexible, they break under the wild winds, and heavy bitter snow. It is their ability to remain loose and shed their bark, that makes them stronger.
I had been asked to testify at a hearing regarding work issues. I had been gone for over a year, and wanted no reminders of my old work experiences. Of reliving the stress. But without a choice, I was forced to make the 2 hour trip twice.
And I kept my head about me. Not drawn into the aggressive, assertive, tense me of old. But now a calmer, cooler head prevailed. And when it was done, a release was felt through out my mind and body.