Gratitude

Thank you so much, everyone, for your kind comments and support. I appreciate each and every one of you. I may not have ever met you, but kindness is powerful and it resonates. When I feel uplifted I am more likely to uplift others around me and that ripple can go on indefinitely. In this world where sound bites and flashing images suggest an impersonal culture, you remind me that compassion and kindness are essential to us all. Independance is celebrated in America, but dammit-we need each other.

How does art impact your life? Is it something you are compelled to create? Has it ever saved you from stress or pain or grief? I believe art saves. Art Saves.

Our educational system touts the three Rs as the most important things we can teach our children. But I see happiness on those young faces when they put crayon to paper or squish into a glob of clay. Happiness is infinitely important, yet we tend to depreciate that which we cannot quantify.

Putting our energy into creating happiness may not directly generate cold, hard cash. But when we put our faith in the goodness of others, we make a direct deposit into what my husband and I call, the Love Bank. A fat Love Bank account provides us with direct access to compassion, kindness and love, anytime we want it. That's the "IRA" I want to draw from when I retire. Open your Love Bank account today with an initial deposit of a kind, sincere comment or a silly note tucked into your child's lunch box. Consciously visualize depositing that act of love in the Love Bank...Feels good!