tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post5963419701656952473..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: #26ActsJanet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-40985225742436658512013-01-01T22:37:27.840-05:002013-01-01T22:37:27.840-05:00I love the idea of the #26Acts. When I first read ...I love the idea of the #26Acts. When I first read about it just before Christmas, it motivated me to finally do something I'd been thinking about but hadn't gotten around to yet: I paid the outstanding library fines for a neighbor's book-loving daughter so she could start borrowing books again. (Fines were high and the mom couldn't pay--long story.) Then I took the receipt that said "Balance: $0," put it in a Christmas card, and mailed it anonymously. <br /><br />The other stuff I've done hasn't been as big as that, but it has been a good reminder to try and spread positivity when I can, even if it's something as small as telling a stranger that her scarf is pretty rather than just thinking that to myself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-1449436590252688952012-12-30T04:03:39.130-05:002012-12-30T04:03:39.130-05:00Oh.
Yes.Oh. <br /><br />Yes.Britni Pattersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365039655461967795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-64883369521119447532012-12-29T23:04:19.835-05:002012-12-29T23:04:19.835-05:00We went today to deliver gifts at a care center. I...We went today to deliver gifts at a care center. I slowed things up a lot because I kept stopping to visit with many of the residents. I was amazed at how many needed a hand to hold or to press to their cheeks - how many longed for human touch. It was a great day, and I need to go back often. Sunshine and Shadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10533311026100989243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-65629592732357044292012-12-29T14:01:54.803-05:002012-12-29T14:01:54.803-05:00Once people realize that, as social animals, we ac...Once people realize that, as social animals, we actually benefit psychologically from acts of giving, then the world will take one step toward being a better place. The act can be something as small as giving away a coffee, to something as significant as caring for a dying family member. It's what separates us. It's what makes us human.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-54842982173255154792012-12-29T11:48:08.064-05:002012-12-29T11:48:08.064-05:00After a deep personal crisis, I started crocheting...After a deep personal crisis, I started crocheting scarves to donate to the Dulaan Mongolia project (since discontinued.) A friend posted the pattern and it was very simple chain-stitch scarves, something even I could make, and you could even make it with leftover yarn. I'd never knitted or crocheted before. <br /><br />The act of making and donating the scarves was soothing when I felt raw, and someone else could feel warm afterward. I've since branched into making hats and scarves to donate to the homeless, and I'm poised to start a knitting ministry in my parish in the new year.<br /><br />If you wouldn't mind a suggestion, something that's pure craft (that hook going in and out, the needle pulling loops through loops) is a great way to reach out to others. The pattern I used for the self-fringing scarf is here: http://kehinde.com/blog/?p=205 (And by "pattern" I mean "the instructions are two lines long.)Jane Lebakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00851954297667846546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-73196918809450428972012-12-29T10:56:30.400-05:002012-12-29T10:56:30.400-05:00Thanks for this post, Janet. #26Acts has been on m...Thanks for this post, Janet. #26Acts has been on my mind a lot as well. Yesterday, I wished my ex-husband's fiance-the woman partly responsible for breaking up my marriage-a Happy Birthday. This was not easy for me, but I wanted to do something outside my comfort zone. A couple of Christmases ago I'd paid for some layaway items for workers at Walmart. One of them, a tall black man, who was the father of two small children found out about it before I'd left the store. He came up to me and was crying and couldn't stop hugging me. It was a most extraordinary moment. <br /><br />I plan to do more in the names of those lost at Sandy Hook. Maybe, in the long run, the loss of so many precious lives will prove to be an impetus that opened our communal eyes and helped make the world a better place. If we each do a little, it can add up to a lot. Debra Lynn Sheltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08238268767406623274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-7268735454288543252012-12-29T09:07:46.342-05:002012-12-29T09:07:46.342-05:00Thanks for sharing. It occurs to me as well that ...Thanks for sharing. It occurs to me as well that a random act of kindness is a good way to improve a shitty day.Stephen Parrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16883165490847664389noreply@blogger.com