Knitting the World Back Together With Yarn and a Lot of Love

Volunteer was never a word in her vocabulary. Not yet. 

Not that she didn’t know what it meant, but it wasn’t something she would ever think about doing. Feeling unloved as a child left her self-centered, angry and needy. As far as Lee Gant was concerned, the world owed her.  But it was hard to get to know the world, as small as hers was. Sheltered and sequestered in a small coastal community in rural New England, she knew little about the daily lives of regular people with regular families, but enough to know that hers wasn’t like theirs. “Bad things happened in my house,” she said, “and I never understood why, because I was afraid to ask.”

 Throughout her teen and young adult years, Lee used drugs and alcohol to transport herself, begging attention from anyone and everyone. Chemicals seemed to work in the short haul, but eventually her use led to more destructive behaviors: setting fires, shoplifting, drunk driving, punching fists through plate glass windows. Cutting helped drain her pent up self-loathing and relieved her. Sutures and butterfly bandages briefly put her back together, but after so many years and so many scars, self-mutilation wasn’t working. Ingesting 150 pills, a four-day coma and her subsequent near-death put an end to all of that. After three weeks in an institution for attempted suicide, she was ready to try something different.

 One day, out of the blue, Lee was invited into a knit shop filled with happy loving people and found a passion and joy she never knew. “I made things with my hands and felt good about myself. I entered an afghan in the county fair and won a blue ribbon. I joined AA and stopped drinking. I found a community of creative people who accepted me and my knitting and that, along with sober living, brought the attention I craved. But still…something was missing,” she said.  She noticed she felt best when she shared her knowledge of knitting and making other people happy brought a new kind of satisfaction.

On a whim, Lee volunteered to teach knitting classes for kids for the local Santa Rosa chapter of Catholic Charities. www.CatholicCharities.org.  She wanted to find out it knitting would make a difference for them like it did for her. She wanted to give them something they could turn to when life got too scary, or complicated, or boring… something they could turn to for comfort or fun. She gave them sticks and string and direction. She gave them an opportunity to feel accomplished and proud. She gave them a piece of herself and found what she’d been missing.

Lee began to care about other people.  “I taught families at a homeless shelter to knit. I taught a group of foster teens. I crocheted for battered women and premature babies. I knit warm hats for cold-headed cancer patients I would never get to know.

“All of this giving changes me. I feel good inside. No longer hollow and self-centered, I feel something akin to love. For others. For myself. For who I am. For what I do.” Lee is not just any knitter; she is tremendously gifted and tremendously generous. She is the author of several books, including Love in Every Stitch and is a sought after pattern designer. Find her on Facebook with “Knitting and Healing With Lee Gant” or you can find her at a shelter with a lot of bright, beautiful skeins of yarn and a bunch of happy kids, doing what she does best.

I asked Lee to sum up how it was that she came to be a “good in the world.”

“I blame it on volunteering,” she said.

National Day of Listening

How often do you feel truly heard?

 

Be an active listener. When someone is speaking to us, it is easy to become distracted by thoughts and external sounds, such a car horn or other nearby conversations—and by giving in to these distractions you can miss crucial details from the speaker. Let the person who is speaking to you know that you are listening by making eye contact and focusing on the sound of their voice rather than the distractions around you. Additionally, don’t interrupt someone when they are speaking. Listen, then respond. Quite often, people are not looking to be “fixed” or for answers and truly just want to be heard

From Growing Up Homeless to Helping the Homeless

NFL player James Jones knows it’s better to give than to receive

“Being homeless made me a better man,” says James Jones, wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders since 2014. “And while I wouldn’t wish anyone to go through that, I wouldn’t change anything as far as how I grew up.” Having slept in shelters and on park benches for the first fifteen years of his life, Jones’ success as an athlete defies stereotypes about homelessness and poverty.

He has taken his challenging experiences to heart. Since being drafted to the NFL in 2007, he has volunteered for many community organizations, and in 2008, started his own with his wife Tamika. The LoveJones4Kids foundation provides funding for school supplies, football camps, and pep talks to underprivileged children, many of them living in the same conditions that Jones did growing up.

“People are used to hearing about a homeless person or kid and don’t think it’s possible to be a professional football player. But down on your luck doesn’t mean down and out.” Touchdown

Thanksgiving: Count Your Blessings #HappyThanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day brings families and friends together in a celebration of gratitude. 

However, it is also a time for reflection and for giving back to your community and to those less fortunate. Millions of people across the America could use a little helping hand and especially now. The oldest and largest national origination dedicated to assisting local, community-based seniors, Meals On Wheels has made delivering daily meals directly to Golden Ager’s its mission – deliveries that wouldn’t be made without strong network of 5,000-plus community programs and countless, countless volunteers. www.mowaa.org is in many communities so find the one near you and get involved. I drove for a hospice food delivery service and the people are so appreciative that I always felt I got more out of that they did. One other good group to go more global in your giving is Convoy Of Hope:  Go to http://www.convoyofhope.org/ and find out what you can do to help end world hunger. We are here to help others and this one of the best-ever ways.

How to Have an Attitude Of Gratitude

Here are some inspired ideas for all year, not just Thanksgiving!

 

1. Be grateful and recognize the things others have done to help you.

2. When you say, “Thank you,” to someone, it signals what you appreciate and why you appreciate it.

3. Post a “Thank you to all” on your Facebook page or your blog, or send individual e-mails to friends, family, and colleagues.

4. Send a handwritten thank-you note. These are noteworthy because so few of us take time to write and mail them.

5. Think thoughts of gratitude—two or three good things that happened today—and notice calm settle through your head, at least for a moment. It activates a part of the brain that floods the body with endorphins, or feel-good hormones.

6. Remember the ways your life has been made easier or better because of others’ efforts. Be aware of and acknowledge the good things, large and small, going on around you.

7. Keep a gratitude journal or set aside time each day or evening to list the people or things you’re grateful for today. The list may start out short, but it will grow as you notice more of the good things around you.

8. Being grateful shakes you out of self-absorption and helps you recognize those who’ve done wonderful things for you. Expressing that gratitude continues to draw those people into your sphere.

9. Remember this thought from Maya Angelou: “When you learn, teach; when you get, give.”

10. Join forces to do good. If you have survived illness or loss, you may want to reach out to others to help as a way of showing gratitude for those who reached out to you.

Make Time for Gratitude Every Day

We are living in a meaner time right now but we don't have to. Look for kindness.

 

When we begin a daily practice of recognizing the positive events that occur and the pleasant encounters we have with others, we start noticing more things to be thankful as the days pass. Perhaps it's someone who holds the door for you at the supermarket, the nice conversation you have with a stranger while at the coffee shop, or a hug with someone you love. These are the small moments, and often the ones we forget. Savor their beauty and what they tell you about humankind—that we do live amongst many good people.

Donate Blankets and Bedding to the Red Cross #PracticalActsofkindness

Many thousands of peole were displaced by the fires this month. They need blankets!

 

Warm Up America (WUA) www.warmupAmerica,org. works with community service organizations and the American Red Cross to distribute warm, hand-made blankets to those who need them. Warm Up America volunteers are encouraged to donate their finished blankets to a local organization (or a local chapter of a national organization) near where they live or work. My family collects old blankets and my mom’s best friend is a master quilter who can make a gorgeous patchwork blanket that would keep anyone quite cozy for years to come.  Warm can be a beautiful thing!

Some of Our Best Friends Have 4 Legs

Meet your friends at the farm and support kindness to animals:
Gene and Lorri Bauston found a living sheep abandoned on a stockyard “dead pile in 1986. Once they recovered from the shock, they rescued the sheep, named her Hilda, and went to work created Farm Sanctuary. Within ten years, Farm Sanctuary became the nation’s largest farm animal rescue and protection organization. They now have a New York shelter and one in California, 100 miles north of Sacramento. Their Website is www.farmsanctuary.org. Not only does their organization rescue thousands of farm animals each year, but also they are also involved in groundbreaking campaigns to help animals. Another way you can support this effort is to visit a sanctuary with your kids as they are often quaint petting zoos with critters you can actually pet!

Happy Recycling Day! #EcoActsofKindness

Did you know this is America Recycles Day? We think EVERY day should be, don't you?

 

Recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20 percent and related water pollution by 50 percent. If it isn’t recycled it can take a million years to decompose… Twenty recycled aluminum cans can be made with the energy it takes to manufacture one brand new one. Every ton of glass recycled saves the equivalent of nine gallons of fuel oil needed to make glass from virgin materials.” (www.50waystohelp.com)

Speak the Language of Kindness

Muchas gracias; there are so many ways to say thank you. Try them all!

 

I learned from my globetrotting friend, Santosh that one of the nicest things a traveller can do is to learn how to say the basics in the language of the locals. He stressed that saying THANK YOU is the MOST important word of all.  His guide to global gratitude is below:

Czech: Děkuji

Danish: Tak

Dutch: Dank u

Estonian: Tänan teid

Filipino: Salamat

Finnish: Kiitos

French: Merci

Gaelic: Go raibh maith agat

German: Danke

Hungarian: Köszönöm

Indonesian: Terima kasih

Italian: Grazie

Japanese: Arigato

Latvian: Paldies

Norwegian: Takk

Polish: Dziękuję

Portuguese: Obrigado

Romanian: Mulţumesc

Spanish: Gracias

Swahili: Asante

Swedish: Tack

Vietnamese: Cảm ơn bạn

Welsh: Diolch yn fawr

Why Send a Text When a Letter Will Do?

Sending letters and postcards make the receipient very happy; a true act of love!

The things that make me the happiest have an emotional and physical effect.  And even more so when you do something for someone else.  One of the most lasting of these things is a personal letter. Being born in the transitional time between letters and computers, many people in my generation have already shunned snail mail as a way to communicate. This makes them rare, but a very inexpensive surprise. My grandmother was one of seven children, and they communicated with a round-robin letter. From mailbox to mailbox, they would add an update on their life and send it around to the next sibling. She taught me that letters are a valuable form of communication, something she’s emphasized as her memory slowly fades.

I got into the habit of writing letters and during the times where I was most stressed, a paper due, a newspaper deadline, or turmoil, I would write a letter. Letters live somewhere between thoughts and stories. They are a confidant and a piece of yourself that you can choose to scrap or share.

When I receive a letter, especially from someone who I haven’t heard from in awhile, I get a rush of endorphins, because I’m holding proof that the friend considered me. It’s the same rush I get when someone is thoughtful or goes out of their way to help me. Most friends reciprocate with a call to say how happy they were to open a personal note rather than another bill or W-2.

I followed epistolary literature in college, often using my break from studying as a chance to write letters. Perhaps letters will go the way of Wells Fargo wagons, but I’ll single-handedly support the post office as long as my friends have addresses and my fingers can write. Letters are my personal therapy, my rush of endorphins, my connection with those I love, and my alone time—my regular serving of happiness.

Honor Our Fallen Military By Helping the Troops Now

We should should really think about the military more than once a year, right?

 

Talk to United States troops we have now! Don't wait for Veteran's Day! Give an Hour is a nonprofit organization that provides free counseling to soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, including their families. This is a great way to show your support to the military while giving the affected people a place to turn to. http://www.giveanhour.org/

Make It Count: Vote Like Your Life Depends On It!

Nowadays, many of us take the right to vote for granted. Don't as it is recent for so many. 

My boyfriend is first generation American Chines, an “ABC.”  His family was unable to vote or even own property until the Civil Rights Act passed LBJ in the sixties. He tells his children to “make it count” and passionately follows local, national and even international events and politics. Get educated about the governance of your own neighborhood in addition to the national political landscape. Exercise your right to vote. Voting is a sacred right that is one of the most important parts of our political system, going back for centuries in our history. Be informed about what is going on in your country, know what ideas you support and are against, and vote on each Election Day to speak for the public—you will be heard.

Your Daily Decisions Can Help Preserve Our Rainforests

Our rainforests are the lungs of the planet; let's do all we can so we can to preserve. 

Recycling saves the rainforest and there are lots of thoughtful chioices you can make. 

Here are some other things you can do to save the rainforest.

• Don’t keep tropical birds or reptiles as pets. Let them live in nature.
• Buy items made from sustainable wood. Hardwood teak and rosewood encourage logging and deforestation, another rainforest destroyer.
• Recycle all your cans. Bauxite is mined from the ground in tropical countries and is the source for aluminum.
• Buy local, organic food whenever possible. Conventional agriculture is exhausting our forests’ resources.
• Support any organization that is legitimately working to protect the environment in developing countries and in precious rainforests.

Skip the Burger and Save the Rainforest

Did you know there is a direct connection between burgers and deforestation? Indeed there is. 

 

The next time you consider grabbing a burger at a fast-food place, remember this: over the past few decades, the rainforests have been disappearing to satisfy our “hunger” for cheap beef. Rainforests are home to over a thousand indigenous tribal groups, thousands of species of birds and butterflies and exotic animals-all of which are now endangered. Rainforests also affect rainfall and wind all around the world by absorbing solar energy for the circulation of our atmosphere: the trees provide buffers against wind damage and soil erosion, which then helps prevent flooding along our coastlines. They are a precious part of our ecosystem. Let’s all do something to protect them.

Over five million acres of South and Central American rainforests are cleared each year for cattle to graze on. The local people don’t eat this much meat-it is exported to make the $1 hamburger and a cheap barbeque meal. More beef=fewer trees