Hello to all in our hive, both near and far. We hope you are doing well. We\u2019re going to jump right in this time because Jazi and I want to tell you something amazzing. It\u2019s about kindness \u2013 and what happened completely blew us away!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By now, you know that kindness is a big theme in Jazianzza\u2019s memoir Bee-Coming Strong, <\/em>as well as in these newsletters. But something happened in our neighborhood a couple of weeks ago that was so profound, we knew we had to tell you all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For years now, I\u2019ve walked around the neighborhood near where I live and at times have picked up trash and recycling. It\u2019s actually kind of fun to see what a difference it can make, though sadly, it\u2019s an endless job; days later, when I return, there is often more of the same. Where I draw the line is picking up dog poop bags. It\u2019s a particular frustration of mine that dog owners feel it\u2019s ok to leave the bags in corners, and especially at the base of a couple of trees whose roots provided a little cradle for them. Yucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I finally realized I didn\u2019t like my attitude about the whole thing. It\u2019s a downer for me, and it\u2019s definitely judgmental — something I know isn\u2019t good. I thought a lot about it and decided to take a couple of 3×5 cards and politely, kindly<\/em>, write out a note in a calligraphic style, asking people to stop. One card said, \u201cPlease \u2013 Help keep this little neighborhood clean and put these bags into the trash can. Thank you.\u201d<\/em> The other one said something similar. I tucked them behind the poop bags, clearly in view of the next potential \u201ccontribution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine my surprise when I walked by the next day. ALL of the bags were gone! The cards were still there, but the bags were not! I thought maybe the cards would have been torn up, or mean things written on them. I was stunned and overjoyed to see the results. Each day I\u2019ve walked past, the base of the trees has remained clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m pretty sure that had I written a snarky note, attempting to shame or bully the dog owners into doing the right thing, the outcome would have been totally different. It clearly shows the power of kindness. Who knows how many ripples have gone out from those little cards? Mother Teresa famously said, \u201cKind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” <\/em>What I did was fun, easy, obviously impactful, and clearly shows the power of kindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Bee-Coming Strong<\/em>, Tree\u2019s gentle kindness helps Jazi recall MamaQueenzieBee\u2019s instructions on how to breathe to let go of all the challenges and take in goodness. Had she not remembered that, she might have gotten fearful or angry when faced with the life-threatening situation near the end of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kindness and breath. These two things naturally take us to the other thing Jazianzza and I wanted to include here\u2026the Buddhist monks walking for peace. By the time this little newsletter buzzes into your box, they will most likely have arrived in Washington, D.C. Their heroic journey has been one of tremendous love, peace, kindness, and joy. They have blessed tens of thousands of people who have turned out to honor them, and\/or to receive hope, and their videos and updates have garnered over 100 million views! <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a profound 3-minute video regarding their walk that we wanted to leave you with. It talks about breath, about bee-ing present to the miracle of life itself, something we forget as we become adults. Many times in the book, we described things in such a way as to have children (and big kids, too!) slow down and pay attention to nature. We shared MamaQB\u2019s wisdom in teaching Jazi that not only are we all connected, but that we are a part of everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We hope you enjoy this video and share it with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n