Every morning I sit in bed with my coffee and read something “inspirational” to reflect on throughout my day. Lately, I've been turning to Mark Nepo’s book “The One Life We're Given”. Today the book opened, not where I had left off but as I reached out to stop it from falling off the bed, to the words “Be Kind and Useful” large and alone on a single page. Turning the page, he goes on to say “since living is breathtaking and hard, we need the stories of our own transformation to guide us, [to] help us remember who we are and how we're joined to life. To accept that we are radiant and broken. To uncover what it means to love the world. And love asks us to gather the gifts that come from keeping the window of our heart open, while integrity asks us to continually widen our circle of compassion. No matter what we face, we're asked to stay tender and resilient, so we don't harden to life.”
Life often provides the means to create “stories of our own transformation”. There is no shortage of opportunities in which we can “widen our circle of compassion”. You don't have to look far to find the small and the large ways in which you can “be kind and useful”, be it through financial donations, volunteering, or messages of kindness to others that need to hear them. Non-profits host events with proceeds going to help their cause, and we hear about the desperate need for warm blankets, clothing and food from those providing support to the vulnerable and homeless.
“Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.” Rumi
Here’s how you can support Halfmoon Bay fundraisers and local vendors!
The Holiday Market + Kids Crafts Fair – HMB Elementary School is Dec. 8, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Find a full list of the 50+ local creatives at inkdesign.ca/clients/HMB-holiday-market/
The Halfmoon Bay Nursery’s Winter Market is Dec. 9, noon to 4 p.m. Music, food (“There will be tacos”, says Michelle, and the One Straw Society is serving soup).
Local vendor stands: Sacred Earth Healing Arts (daily on Lohn Road and at the Nursery’s Market), and the Rustic Rooster (on Redrooffs) on Dec. 10.
The HBCA’s Neighbours Helping Neighbours supporting the Halfmoon Bay Community School is well short of its $10,000 target. Please take a few minutes to donate. Details at halfmoon-bay.ca
Raffle tickets to support the Community School, tickets are $5 each with a chance to win $1,000, $500, or $300 (draw is on Dec. 22). Contact Wendy White at [email protected] or Lindsay Reeve, the HMB Chatelech – Community Association Chair at [email protected].
If you have a local event or vendor business to promote, and/or community and personal stories to share, please email me at [email protected].
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