Thoughts about giving and gifts

I think I've mentioned before how much I love quotes. Some folks just have a way with words, don't they? Like Maya Angelou, who said, "I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver." I had the opportunity to test out this concept recently, and found it to be true. Our seven-year-old daughter had been having some concerning symptoms, and her doctor sent us to a specialist to have her checked out. It's a funny thing about human nature that given half a chance, we tend to think the worst. Driving into the pediatric cancer center for our appointment, I was thinking, "how many times will we come here? Is this the first heart-wrenching visit of many?" Thank God, it wasn't. The oncologist determined our daughter's bone marrow is recovering from a nasty virus, and she doesn't have leukemia. Before he told us that, though, and we all sighed a huge sigh of relief and thanksgiving, we left some bracelets. Giving, it seems, actually takes us out of our personal sphere, whether it's full of joy or sorrow, and makes us think about the inner life of someone else - will this make them happy? will they smile when they find this? if a boy finds one of these bracelets, will he give it to his mom, or his girlfriend? will they realize that they've been touched by someone they've never met? will we bring joy into someone's life today? So, even in the midst of our anxiety and fear, we found a way to take ourselves "outside ourselves", and in doing that we not only spread some happiness into someone else's life, but we made ourselves smile, too.

It's not really about bracelets, you know. It's about the unexpected delight of receiving a gift you neither anticipated nor earned. You're getting something that someone put their time and caring into, even though that person has never met you. It's about discovering that someone who owes you nothing, someone you haven't met or tried hard to impress, someone who has nothing to gain by giving to you - cares.

Comment on this project/your find

If you find one of the special crafted items my family and I have left around town, I'd love it if you'd leave a comment - there's a spot at the bottom of this "box". My family and I have had tons of fun creating these items, and tons more fun thinking of good places to leave them and doing so. We got to "sneak around" - in a good way! We get all warm and fuzzy thinking we made someone's day a little brighter, or maybe gave them a smile, and we'd get even warmer and fuzzier (yeah, don't think too much about how weird that was) if you'd leave a little message letting us know what you found and if it made you smile. If you've just stumbled on this site by accident, or if you're a member of a medical practice in which we've left some of our goodies, feel free to comment, as well. It's all about touching someone (just not so much in an uncomfortable, possibly unwelcome physical way and more in a surprising, spiritual, emotional, and made-you-grin kind of way) ;-)

Best Wishes!

Found art

So, if you've found a nifty little something somewhere around town attached to a tag with this blog address on it, you've found the right spot. Maybe you already know all about found art, and this explanation is unnecessary for you. Maybe, however, you're wondering - who was that masked woman, and why did she leave that lovely, and dare I say incredibly well-made crafty *whatever you found* in/on the *wherever you found it*. You really should check out this site:
http://www.found-art.com/

That site pretty much inspired some friends of mine and I, but we sez to ourselves, we sez, "We are not by any wild stretch of the imagination artists. We are crafty folks, yes, but not artists. What if we totally plagiarized this idea, but with crafts?" So, that's pretty much what we did. The whole purpose of this is to just bring a little touch of brightness, happiness, or surprise to some one's day. I also strongly believe that whatever you found was for you - it was no accident that you found it. I made it for you. I really hope you enjoy it.

I am crazy about quotes. I mean, why bother to talk when someone with a much more famous name has undoubtedly said just what I wanted to say, only with a superior vocabulary, and in print, long before I even thought of it? So I'll leave you with a few quotes that express perfectly how I feel about this project:

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. ~Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

The only gift is a portion of thyself. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is bought is cheaper than a gift. ~Portuguese Proverb

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give. ~George MacDonald

Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.~William Wordsworth, 1806

Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower. ~Author Unknown

Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy. ~Gretta Brooker Palmer

My new little corner of the web!

So, here I am, carving out a tiny niche for myself on the Big Bad Web. My primary reason for creating this blog is to have a place where folks who find my "found art", or, in my case, "found crafty bit" can come to find out what the heck that's all about. It's also going to be a fun place for me to muse about life, family, crafts, and whatever else pops into my silly little head. When my digital camera starts loving me again, I'll even post some pictures.