365 Inspirations—52: New Blog Discovery

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”—Kahlil Gibran

 I will admit that I don't always have time to read all the blogs I want to read. There are so many inspiring blogs and people out there and I'm happy to have met you all in the blogosphere.

Today is a very busy day for me. I have a split shift at the college and need to go back in about an hour to teach my last class.

When I got home, I posted comments left on my last post and, in that process, discovered a new blog. Whenever someone new stops by here, I try to make a point of visiting them as well. I only had time to read one or two posts and the two I read on this person's blog touched my heart.

I think that's what it's all about really. We don't need to change the entire world, but if we can do a few things to make the world a better place for a few people and ourselves, I think that is so important.

The blog I discovered today is called Blue O'Connell's Musical Adventures  and the two posts I read were called "An Unexpected Gift" and "Man's Best Friend". They were simple, short posts, but they were so heartfelt. Blue is a Music Practitioner and plays music in nursing homes and for the intellectually disabled. Her blog is very simple and she has just a handful of followers. It would make my day if you'd all pay her a visit.

She talks about how we often don't know what a difference we are making in other people's lives. We may feel like we are making no difference at all and that what we do is unimportant. The truth is, every little thing we do is so important and can have such a tremendous impact.

I teach English as a Second Language. I have over 100 students from over 30 countries in my classes.  My students are all immigrants and refugees and I know they need English so desperately in order to make a life in a new place.

I often don't think about the impact I might make on a student until they let me know. Sometimes a student will do this by preparing a dish from their country or making a gift by hand. It's always such a surprise to receive these gestures of appreciation and I often feel like it's too much.

I'm reminded, through Blue's blog, that part of the process of giving is also being able to receive.

Each one of us, in our daily activities and gestures, can make a difference in other people's lives. We are all in this together. What we each do is so important.

*Special Note: Blue is giving away a copy of her CD "Choose the Sky" to those who visit her blog and leave a comment. I visited her website at blueoconnell.com and learned that she is profoundly deaf and had to have cochlear implant surgery. This makes her beautiful, sweet song and voice even more inspiring. Here's the song "Choose the Sky" on YouTube:

Have you read any new blog posts or blogs that have touched you or made you feel grateful or appreciative? Has any kind gesture touched you today?

365 Inspirations—33: One Family and the Love of a Maple Tree (Greenlake, Seattle)

“For me, it’s more than just saving a tree. It’s inspirational that a little boy saw  something that he didn’t like in the world and stood up for it. And it actually worked.”—Kim Butler

Seattle people LOVE trees! We are the Evergreen State and we are very proud of our towering trees. People fight to have trees remain in place and would rather have the trees over anything else. For months now, I've been walking around Greenlake Park in Seattle and have spotted a huge Maple tree trunk elaborately decorated with fresh flowers daily! Someone obviously loved this tree and was saddened by its loss from the park. I have wondered for months now who has been doing this.

For a few weeks now, there have only been the remains of dead flowers on the tree trunk. I felt saddened to see this and thought the person decorating the tree trunk must have given up.

However, today, while I walked around Greenlake with my husband, I was thrilled to see that the trunk was decorated once again with an array of bright flowers! It made me smile. Several people stopped to view the flowers and I also noticed happiness on their faces.

So I decided to Google "decorated tree trunk at Greenlake" and of course I found the news story from the Greenlake Komo News website and most of this information here is from that story.

It all started with one family, the Butlers, in 2002. Taylor, the boy, was only 5 when he spotted a sign that mentioned the tree would be cut down. The young boy was so sad that this tree would be removed that he posted signs on the tree urging people to save it. He left blank pieces of paper in order to gather signatures and support for the tree.

The family's passion for the tree extended the tree's life by 10 years, but eventually it was cut down because it had split and was a threat to the community.

To honor the tree, the Butlers have been placing fresh flowers on the trunk for many months, but they decided that they'd like a more permanent way to memorialize the tree.

The kids, Emma and Taylor, along with their mother, created a fundraiser to raise money for a park bench that will be placed near the tree trunk. Many people have supported this fundraiser and they have raised over $1,200 for the bench.

I never expected that a little boy and a love for a tree could spark such a crusade to save it. It just goes to show that it doesn't matter how young or old you are, we can all make a difference.

Here's their Facebook page for their Maple Tree Bench Project

Have you ever stood up for a cause you believe in? Are you also a lover of trees?