The Ripples of Positive Energy

A year and a half ago, I was taking a class and one of the modules was on creativity.  The concept shared was that when we are feeling stuck or stagnant, one of the best things we can do is put our energy into something creative because that will help shift our energy.

Given that I had gone through a major purge of excess belongings in recent years, I didn't want to create more "stuff" that would clutter the house so I asked the other participants for suggestions on "creative" things I could do that wouldn't generate more "stuff" in my house. One of the suggestions that I felt most excited about was painting rocks and leaving them around my neighborhood.  I went down to the beach and collected some rocks, picked up some paints at a local art store and got started.  I painted the words: Peace, Love, Hope and Joy on the rocks and with the rocks that were too small for those words, I either painted smiley faces or flowers on them.  My focus was on doing something creative that would shift MY energy.  I had no idea how wide the ripples would go from there.

I went out in the daytime when most of my neighbors were at work so that no one would know who was placing the rocks and I put about thirty or more on the streets closest to mine.  The odd thing was that prior to this, Kino had started refusing to go on walks. Well, we would leash up and leave the house but after less than 5 minutes, he was dragging me back home with such force, you couldn't really call it a "walk."  Interestingly, after I put the rocks out, I noticed that he would walk a little further . . . onto the streets where I had placed rocks. Inspired by this, I went to the beach to get more rocks.  After painting them, I placed them on streets even further out from our house . . . and sure enough, Kino was suddenly willing to walk on those streets too.

I was very excited that "doing something creative" was having a such a positive impact on Kino.

And then people started posting on our neighborhood email group about the rocks . . . Fellow dog parents were commenting on how much they enjoyed seeing the rocks when they were out walking their dogs and parents were commenting on how the rocks were the highlight for their toddlers when they were out for walks.  People posted about their excitement when they came home from work and found a rock in front of their house. I never expected that kind of reaction and I was tickled to know that my attempt to shift MY energy was impacting so many others in a positive way.

Since I live in a vacation town, by the end of last summer most of the rocks had disappeared, as vacationers took them as souvenirs or because they knew something I didn't know . . . that many people take painted rocks and bring them to a new location and then post the pictures on line.  Soon there were posts on our neighborhood email group about the missing rocks and how sad people were that they were gone . . . that they missed the cheer they brought our neighborhood. Not wanting my neighbors to be disappointed, down to the beach I went to collect more rocks, back to the art store for more paint . . . and my mission continued.



So far I have only been "caught" by one neighbor.  She calls me the "Rock Fairy" now.  :-) She was inspired to bring the idea to her school where she is a teacher. They had a rock painting project that was so successful, the principal decided next time they should extend it to all the classes in the elementary school. Again, I was surprised by how wide the ripple effect has gone on this small class project of mine.

It has been a beautiful reminder to me that no matter how small the effort, there is no cap on how great the impact can be. Even simple gestures like smiling at a stranger or letting a car merge onto a busy road from a side street can have the same ripple effects. We may never know how far the ripples will go but for me, I find joy in making the first effort. Since vacation season is winding down here, I've painted a new set of rocks and now that Kino isn't afraid to walk in our neighborhood, he'll be able to help me spread the love (and the joy and the peace and the hope).  ;-)

Saving Bees

For as much as I love walking the beach and for as much peace and joy that it brings me, there are times when I feel sad  . . . when I come across bees that have perished along the shoreline.  I don't know why there are so many bees down there and why they can't see the water coming in and fly to safety before the wave breaks on the shore.  I've puzzled over it countless times but never came up with any answers.

Earlier this spring, I happened upon a bee that had been knocked over by a wave but was still alive. He was on his back . . . floundering . . . unable to turn himself over and too wet to fly away.  I wanted to help him but I didn't know how.  I feared that if I tried to pick him up with my hands, I would get stung and I didn't want to get stung.  I always carry my flip-flops when I walk the beach so using the toe of my flip-flop, I tried to scoop him up onto my shoe.  It didn't work and I ended up flinging even more sand on him and stressing him out even more.  I felt awful but I wasn't deterred.  I just HAD to find a way to help this bee.

Something inspired me to see if he could grab onto my flip-flop himself.  Holding it upside down so the straps were right over his body, I asked him if he could grab ahold of the strap.  Much to my surprise and delight he did!  I flipped my shoe over so he was right side up and I explained to him that I wanted to help him get to dry land.  I told him he could just relax, catch his breath and let his wings dry and I assured him that I would find a plant for him to rest on.

The beach that I walk on is lined with beach houses up a ways from the shore.  Many of the houses have flowers and bushes so I decided to walk up to the houses and find a flower to put him on.  As I held my shoe next to the plant, I told him it was safe for him to let go of my shoe and step onto the flower.  He seemed a little hesitant at first but after a minute or so, he stepped safely onto the flower.  I wished him well and walked back to the shore.  Much to my surprise, within a minute or so, I encountered another bee, floundering on his back.  I decided the process was worth repeating and fortunately for me, this bee was on board with it . . . grabbing onto the strap of my flip-flop and allowing me to walk him up to a flower.

My hour long beach walk turned into a 2+ hour beach walk that day because I found so many bees that needed help.  I had never walked up to the houses that many times as I usually just walk along the water and while my feet hurt from walking on such hot sand, I didn't give it much thought, as I was so happy that I was able to help the bees!!

Not long after that, I saw a painting of a little girl holding a bee and it touched me so much it brought tears to my eyes.

The artists name is:   Autumn Skye. If you feel inspired to check out any of her other artwork, she has some amazing pieces. Her website is: https://www.autumnskyeart.com

Since that first day, helping bees along the shore has become a regular thing.  I still feel sad when I encounter a bee that has already died (I tell them that I am sorry I wasn't able to get there in time) but it makes my heart feel good to know there are bees that I HAVE been able to help.

The other interesting thing is that since I started saving bees on the beach, I have been having encounters with bees in my backyard. I have always enjoyed seeing them buzz around the flowers in the yard but they have never come near me . . . that is until the last few months when bees will come right up to me, a few inches from my face, sometimes they'll do a little zig-zag maneuver in front of me and then fly off.  It feels like an acknowledgment that I am a "friend" and it makes me smile.