Thankfulness Thursday - We are all connected

I am going to do my best to participate in the Weekly Gratitude year long project of documenting what you are grateful for each week. I settled on Thankfulness Thursdays because I like the alliteration ! ;)

Today I would like to express my gratitude for Connection.

Not so long ago, I was lost in a place of real isolation and loneliness. On a day of desperation, I asked for help from the Universe. I said "Look, I am drowning here. I don't know what I am doing on this planet. Please help me. Tell me what to do."

The unexpected answer came in the form of a video called "girls who rock"(this video is no longer available) on a blog called "The Dancing Mermaid". The video by McCabe showed her and her mermaids warriors, her young girl tribe, joyously learning to be strong and healthy women during a summer creativity camp put together my McCabe. It also showed the girls painting these gorgeous brightly colored rocks with words of inspiration and connection for one another.

After I watched the video a couple of times and cried at its magic and beauty, and told McCabe how incredible I thought she was through a comment on her blog, I was pushed by everything in me to paint some rocks of my own. I actually had a bucket of smooth stones from the beach under my desk waiting for such a project.

The painting of the rocks was one of those experiences when you feel like something, someone else, is working through you. The words and phrases just came pouring out. It still feels that way to this day when I sit down to paint the Rock My World rocks.

Once I had a pile of these lovely rocks, all varnished and full of love, the question came "What do I do with them now ?" The answer came quickly "Go and give them away. Get out of your own head. Do something for some one else." That was the day that the Rock Fairy was born.

I walked to the park and started leaving the rocks on benches. The thing that was filling me up with each rock I left was the thought that my little act of leaving that rock behind was like giving kindness and love to someone else...without expectations, without a need to be recognized, just giving and connecting to someone at a heart level. The giving of that little extra bit of love was filling me back up in return - it was making me feel like I had a purpose in this life. My purpose is to connect to others in love and kindness. I have shared many stories here of how these little bits of love have allowed me to connect to people from all over. They have allowed me to know that I am not alone and that we are all in this together. Those rocks have really made my world better in more ways than I could ever describe to you...

Recently, I told you about a craft fair that I attended and you may remember that I met a young man there who was an art student who needed to do an interview with a stranger for a paper at school. He was drawn to me by the rocks, as I was giving them out and having wonderful exchanges with people at the fair.

Well, I met with Nick at a local bookstore, and he interviewed me. I told him the story of the Rock Fairy and how Rock My World started and what it has brought me, from the heart filled with joy at leaving a rock somewhere for a stranger to find, to receiving the title of Rock Fairy from my friends Michelle and Patti, and so much more. My friend Nick then wrote his paper, handed it in and received an A on it ! His teacher called what he had written "poignant" and "memorable". It was very well written, and best of all, it was done with such respect to my story and what I had shared with him. That really touched me !

Nick also send me a thank you gift of one of his incredible cardboard vessels that now sits fittingly on my altar in the studio, filled with Rock My World rocks. The greatest gift he gave me though, was in his last lines of the email he sent thanking me for my time. The lines read :

"I'm so happy to know you appreciated the story and it warmed my heart to read that you were proud. You are one of the kindest people I've ever met and if I'm ever feeling down, I'll just think of you and how I can do something for somebody else. This project has truly been such a rewarding experience!"

The card from Nick - a beautiful print !

The cardboard vessel - made with precision and an artist's eye.

I have come to realize that connection is what it is all about for me in this life. It is my purpose, my greatest source of joy and comfort, and my motivation for being the best person I can be. The better I love and connect with myself, the stronger and more powerful my connections with others will be.

So on this first Thankfulness Thursday of 2010, I express my gratitude for the beautiful web of connection of our souls and all it brings to us as human beings. I am thankful for it each and every day.

Happy Thursday, Beautiful Ones !