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abundance, awareness, compassion, earth, gifts, good deeds, inspiration, kindness, life, service, singing, song
image credit: http://quotes.lifehack.org/quote/martin-luther-king-jr/human-salvation-lies-in-the-hands-of/
This quote has been with me for a while, ever since I heard it in a talk about, what, a month or so ago? I’ve been wanting to write a poem about it, but haven’t found my angle yet, it’s just sooooo huge, like, it’s massive!!! Don’t you think? I mean I read this quote and it’s like I get soul shivers. And this week, I sat with it a bit and tried to find some examples from my own life where I’ve demonstrated this ‘creative maladjustment’ – I found a few mini ones. What I noticed though, was that a lot of them were moments, short term, spontaneous courageous responses. But the key here is staying power.
I watched a beautiful TED talk about a guy who didn’t speak for 17 years and only walked (no riding in any motorised vehicle) in response to witnessing a catastrophic oil spill back in the early seventies.
Uber inspiring stuff, but that was his response. What’s mine? I look at the world and there are any number of causes crying out for attention, for support for…but what’s mine? Where can I best contribute? How can I respond to all that need?!?
I also want to share with you a fantastic challenge my fellow good deed blogger has taken on, because it totally fits this ‘creative maladjustment’ theme. She’s challenged herself to only say good things, no negative gossiping or putting down.
Do you realise how big that is? How hard that is? How accustomed we as a culture have become to bad mouthing each other in the name of humour and letting off steam? I haven’t committed myself yet because I want to think carefully about this one – if I do it I want to do it with my whole self. Maybe I’ll just try it for 24 hours and see how I go, without telling anyone yet. That said, I have already become more aware of when I engage in this kind of talk, and of how I feel when I hear others doing it, which is a start. Do please check out Rosie’s most recent post.
And also the article that inspired her:
So, ummmm, after thinking i didn’t have an intro….so I’ll keep the rest brief. Love you guys – be well:-)
Sunday 18th May
Gave a mini tour of the community to a new arrival, a French woman who had come a week early to orient herself before starting the one month English language course.
AND good deed(s) received:
She was very appreciative, and the weather didn’t rain on us! Oh, and a care colleague broke out the biscuits when we made time to sit and catch up over a cuppa…
Monday 19th May
Spent two hours with a new colleague creating lesson plans for her first week of teaching English here, having already spent the morning collecting, printing and preparing useful material for her.
AND good deed(s) received:
A very enthusiastic and appreciative response to my support.
Tuesday 20th May
Gave a well-prepared and personalised English lesson to the French woman I’d welcomed earlier in the week, and showed her where she could pick up a free spare pair of trousers, as hers had a rip. Also promised to bring in a needle and thread the next day.
AND good deed(s) received:
A lovely hug from an ex colleague and she was so happy for me when I told her about how my year was shaping up, especially the plans to volunteer teach in Burma/Myanmar for three months from October. Oh, and I was offered the summer teaching job in my old home town!!! I start beginning of July!
Wednesday 21st May
Put a lot of love and gentleness (and some songs…) into my shift with the elderly lady I care for, as she has become so very frail, and no longer opens her eyes or speaks. She barely ate anything when we tried to feed her.
AND good deed(s) received:
Lots of laughter and profound discussion during a lesson I gave, as well as appreciation for the needle and thread I’d remembered:-)
Thursday 22nd May
Helped an overwhelmed friend clean in preparation for some B&B guests she was expecting…one of whom had arrived early! It was chaotic, but we got it done:-)
AND good deed(s) received:
I was very touched by my new English student’s appreciation of some poems I brought along to share with her (Rumi, Hafiz etc) and she was so enthusiastic about the time we’ve had together, and how supportive it’s been for her over the last four days.
Friday 23rd May
At my colleague’s request, I sang to the elderly lady I care for as we settled her for the night. It was taking longer than usual as she was coughing a lot and we were trying to find her a comfortable and safe position. We all feel she is not long for this world.
AND good deed(s) received:
I was made to feel like a good luck charm when I was walking in town, and bumped into a man I know who was lamenting the lack of buses and taxis, and disappointed that he’d have to wait over an hour to get home. Just as I was making the suggestion that he wait in the library where he could keep warm and entertained, a taxi passed and he flagged it down, thanking me profusely! Very cool:-) AND…I was in one of my strange ‘what’s my purpose?!’ (aka what’s the point?!) moods, and was saved by a trip to the library where I typed into google ‘quotes purpose’ – honestly, sooooo inspiring, and this was one of the best…
Saturday 24th May
I did a full day (9 hours!) in Mum’s cafe, as her colleague was sick and I happened to be free.
AND good deed(s) received:
Mum insisted on paying me, when my intention had been to work for nothing, and help her out…
Wishing you a wonderful week dear friends.
Love and hugs, Harula xxx
wordsthatserve 
How lovely, well done for getting the teaching job, Thanks for the shout out, I’m finding the challenge a real challenge, but then again that is its purpose. Please keep up the inspiring quote I love them. Have a great week.
Hi Rosie – oops,sorry I’ve been so slow to reply to this comment – I should be writing this week’s post right now! Glad you enjoyed the quotes – I seem to be collecting them in droves at the moment, and am only too happy to share the inspiration they bring me. Have a great Sunday! Love and hugs, Harula xxx
A good week Harula and congratulations on the summer job! As for the Sufi saying at the top of your post, this has nudged at me over and over for many years! It is such a simple concept I feel it should be easy to carry through but it’s not!!! I’ll keep trying! 😊
Love and hugs xxx
Thanks Christine! I’m looking forward to the job actually. Yes, that quote has been traveling by my side for a while nudging, and prodding and tickling and generally keeping me on my toes…and so it should! I’ll be back later for this weeks post, sorry to be so slow in replying to your kind comment! Love and hugs, Harula xxx
Ooh. I’m creative! And maladjusted! But creatively maladjusted is a different thing entirely.
I love love love that T.H.I.N.K. statement. The world would be a more thoughtful and generous place if we all followed that advice.
I also love THINK, because I now have this song stuck in my head:
Thanks for sharing this Mike – Fa-bu-lous!!! I had a guess that was what the song would be, but I’ve never seen this video of it. It is a cool statement isn’t it, and yes, I too think I’m pretty good at the creative bit, even pretty maladjusted sometimes(!), but both at the same time? That’s a sacred alchemy I haven’t yet perfected. Hugs, Harula xxx