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Week 16 and four months in – that makes me smile:-) I’m going to try to sum this week up in a tanka, as I can’t find ‘normal’ words for it…

Filled with unknowing,

I surrender to flowing

respond don’t react

though your plans may fall apart

just keep living from the heart

May I again appreciate my dear ‘Good Deed friend’, Rosie, the inspiration for all these posts, and who has added a new adventure to her blogging life for the month of September, sharing and celebrating romance with a new author every day! DO check it out:

http://rosieamber.wordpress.com

For other Good Deeds posts I’ve written, including the original, please check out:

Good Deed Weeks!

Sunday 1st September

Picked up a friend from the airport. He’d been away for three months, so I filled him in a little on what’s been happening while he’s been away. Had dinner with a friend who’s leaving, to talk about and plan the meditation I will lead on Thursday, to create a space where she can be acknowledged and appreciated. I gave her a copy of my poetry book as a going away gift, because it relates to experiences in/with nature, which is her great passion.

AND good deeds received:

There were lots of lovely comments and likes on my week 15 Good Deeds post  – thank you all! I was given another twenty pounds by a friend who had taken a bag at the fundraising sale on the previous Sunday, but hadn’t had money on her at the time.

Monday 2nd September

Sent what I’ve written so far; four cards to my friend’s son, a letter to a friend I met in Rwanda, and a card/letter to my niece who has just moved out of home into student digs. On impulse, grabbed a copy of my poetry book as I left the house to give to a colleague as an early birthday present. She has shown me some of her own poetry recently, so I know it’s a shared interest.

AND good deed(s) received:

A red squirrel raced me! It was on the wall of a bridge I was driving across, and it ran along the wall, trying to keep up with my car. It felt so close, almost touchable, and kept looking over to see how it was doing! It beat me – just! Bumped into an ex English student of mine, who has just returned to the community with her family, and we shared a warm hug.

Tuesday 3rd September

I was given the afternoon off, spontaneously, so I drove my mother and I to pick up my cousin from the airport. I cooked a meal when we got back and generally helped settle my cousin in, showing her around the house and so on.

AND good deed(s) received:

Another postcard from my dear friend’s son! My cousin showered us with gifts including some traditional edible Dutch treats, and a beautiful scarf. I was given another 20 pounds for my Rwandan friend Beatha, by a woman who hadn’t had money on her the day of the fundraising sale, but had taken a cardigan…I continue to be really touched by all this generosity:-)

Wednesday 4th September

Acted the fool in class for the sake of an entertaining presentation on the different ways we can ask for and give permission in English, from the verging on rude to the perfectly polite. Went home to cook lunch for my cousin and I, and took her on a tour of the community, introducing her to a few of my friends and treating her to a cappuccino and cake in the cafe. Drove Mum, my cousin and I to a Sacred Dance session in the evening.

AND good deed(s) received:

Was thanked by the leader of the Sacred Dance session for our presence, and for encouraging so many of the students to come too. All the joy and smiles on my cousin’s face as I showed her around were a real gift! Helped me see the community through fresh eyes again, and thereby re-witness its magic.

Thursday 5th September

Wrote a poem as I ate my breakfast, to cheer up the heavy grammar topic of the Present Perfect. Ended up going totally off topic in the and shared ‘from the heart’ (their words, not mine:-) about the challenges of learning a language, and becoming ‘full’, like an over watered plant that simply can’t take in any more. It takes time to soak up. I held a meditation for a friend who is leaving, to which about 20 people came. It was really beautiful, profound even, and she said at the end that, at last, she now did feel complete with her time here.

AND good deed(s) received:

Was called ‘an angel’ by one of the students, who asked if she could hug me:-) Several others also shared very warm appreciation for the morning’s lesson. I was given space to be deeply heard by a friend and colleague, who was curious about my next steps and what my motivation is for stopping teaching on this course. It was very nourishing and enlightening, re-reminding me of the great power in simply being listened to from the heart. I heard myself saying things I didn’t know I’d been thinking.

Friday 6th September

Agreed to go in and teach, on what was meant to be my day off, in response to a 6.30am phone call from one of my colleagues, saying she was ill and could I cover. It ended up being a very enjoyable and graceful lesson. Came home immediately after and made lunch for my cousin and I, then took her for a walk to the river. Helped make ‘something from nothing’ for dinner (there was little in the house) which turned out to be delicious. Took my cousin to a Harmonic Temple singing session in the community, which was incredibly beautiful.

AND good deed(s) received:

My friends, who were leading the Harmonic Temple singing, invited donations for my Rwandan friend Beatha at the end – which I was totally not expecting!!!

Saturday 7th September

I took my cousin to the ‘big city’, Inverness, for the day and showed her some of my favourite places, including an old church that has been turned into a second hand bookshop (over 100,000 books!) and cafe. I bought us soup for lunch – delicious – and it took us at least 10 attempts of, ‘ok, let’s go’, ‘yep, I’m coming, I’ll follow you’ to actually get out – so many wonderful books, it was heart breaking to leave them!!! I’ve already planned in my mind a day trip just to Leakey’s and JUST to be with the books…ahhh, heaven!

http://www.invernessbid.co.uk/leakeys-bookshop-cafe

Also sent emails to friends and clients, catching up with my virtual communications to do list!

AND good deed(s) received:

Received a really lovely email from a friend I haven’t heard from in a while, who was writing to….thank me for the letter I sent her! Hooray! Ahhh, the power of the handwritten word:-)

So, I wasn’t able to write ‘a letter a day’ as I’d intended – an unwell colleague and a visiting cousin being my priority – but I will try again this week!

Wishing you all a wonderful week dear friends:-)