A New Season, a New Project and Some Updates on Familiar Things

Well and here we are!  The first post-Lent post!  I’m super excited and if you’re here, I hope you are too!  There’s a new soon-to-be announced project coming up here at From the Heart, so stay tuned for that!  For today, you’ll find updates on some familiar topics, AND a new family-related post over at: http://srajek.wordpress.com.  It’s about raising social deviants going to Wal-Mart with my boys.

So, updates!  A few weeks ago, I wrote about my attempts at being a “secret messenger for good” at work (thanks to Summer Pierre and her wonderful book, The Artist in the Office).  As you may recall, things got off to a disappointing start (the inspirational quote that I taped up on the paper towel holder in the women’s bathroom stayed up, the one in the men’s bathroom didn’t last the day).  However, I am happy to report that there have been some exciting developments.

After the first week, my male colleague and I decided to place the men’s bathroom quote on the mirror to test whether this had any effect on how long it stayed up.  Also, I chose an Einstein quote in the hopes that engineers would be less inclined to tear down something by Einstein than just some new-agey positive-thinking message.  The quote was: “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.”  So that one went up on the men’s bathroom mirror, and I taped “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” to the women’s paper towel dispenser.

The following week, I went into the women’s bathroom to discover that someone had written a little note on the corner of the quote. It said, “Thank you–whoever you are!  This is such a kind gesture!”  I was SO excited. 

But there’s even more exciting news to come.  My colleague told me that on the MEN’S bathroom quote, someone had ALSO written a note.  So I asked him to bring to me so that I could see it for myself (and of course write about it here).  The handwritten note said: “and we live in a superposition of these 2 states” (referring, I assume to the miracle/non miracle states of mind described by Einstein).

I have NO idea what this means.  But that doesn’t matter because the quote stayed up AND someone commented on it!  Someone cared enough to get out a pen, lean against the mirror, and write down something that they thought.  It’s such happy news!  The male engineers are trying!  They don’t make any sense, but they are making an effort!

This week the bathroom quote is: “It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice,” which is more of a message than an inspirational statement, so we’ll see what happens.  And where. 

The other thing I wanted to update you on is that things are indeed, now mostly green.  The floor of Busey Woods is green and shimmery, and trees and shrubs are bursting open all over the place.  Below is a picture of Gabe’s tree next to Our Little Spot.  I consulted the experts, i.e. asked Martin, and learned that it’s a crab apple tree.  You can see the tiny dark pink bud in the middle of those lovely little leaves.  It’s Spring for sure.  It’s hope.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune–without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson