An Encouraging Word

A Quick Fix

Just so you know, I’m a big kid. I still like to turn on cartoons in the mornings—these days it beats the news, that’s for sure! Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of older cartoons like reruns of Bugs Bunny, Sylvester and Tweety, etc. A short while ago, there was one cartoon where Sylvester and his son are trying to get into a home for the winter. The lady who owns the home is fine with having a kitten, but not a full-grown cat, which is where the shenanigans begin. Anyway, in one scene, she’s singing Gene Autry’s “Home on the Range” and now, I’ve got this earworm in my head. The line “where seldom is heard, a discouraging word” keeps coming back to me. Because I’m guessing that discouraging words are all that are in the air these days, I wanted to try to add some encouragement to the ether. Not too much, just a quick fix.

There's nothing wrong with taking a pause. Life will resume!

There is beauty in trying to carve out what you want your life to look like. It doesn’t start out perfectly. Tools need to be acquired or found again, the latter which may have dulled over time. The matter that is being worked may be wood or a blank canvas or page. What I know is that the worker sees something there, some thing or art that needs to be carved out or brought forward so that others can see and feel it, to hear and/or experience it. Cooks don’t just see some vegetables, meats, and seasonings. They capture in their minds how those items are to be worked, they consider how much time is needed, at what temperature and for how long, and finally the presentation. Life can be a dish that has beginnings in loving gardens and then ends as edible art.

My hope every day is to expand my spirit. I want to discover something that will lift my heart and mind, and then share that something with others in the hope that it promotes peace and promise. It seems to me that the world needs some healing, some light that will disinfect the nastiness of today’s rhetoric. I just want to add to the good vibes that I see others trying to share, because there are some days where the hurt is tangible. We are worthy of more and we can access it. This “more” doesn’t require the denigration of others, either. We just need to encourage each other one step at a time, one digestible bite of some edible art at a time. May you be encouraged today!

This piece was first published here: https://open.substack.com/pub/kenyana/p/an-encouraging-word?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email